Pretty Poison
by Higuchimon
Summary: [10/10 chapters, 10 switched LJ challenge, complete, Tommi x Jason/Jason x Tommi, genderswitch, #1 One Little Change, alternate universe: genderswitch] What would the Green Ranger arc be like if Tommy Oliver were...Tommi Oliver? Just a little change.
1. Deadliest of the Species

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters presented here and am not making any profit off of this whatsoever.  
**Story Title:** Pretty Poison  
**Chapter Title:** Deadliest of the Species  
**Story Word Count:** 3,182  
**Chapter Word Count:** 3,182  
**Rated:** PG-13  
**Focus:** Tommy Oliver (well, technically Tommi Oliver)  
**Romance:** A couple of hints here and there of Tommi x Jason  
**Notes:** So, I'm writing Power Rangers again. I don't know how long this will last, though I am determined to finish this challenge at least. Just for clarification, this is an AU universe where Tommy Oliver was born female, therefore she is now Tommi Oliver. Some events will be the same, some will be different, some will be similar but with changes. Comments and criticism gratefully accepted.  
**LJ Challenge:** This was written for the 10_switched challenge at Livejournal, using the prompt of 'beginning'.  
**Summary:** What would the Green Ranger arc be like if Tommy Oliver were...Tommi Oliver? Just a little change.

* * *

Of everything that Jason Lee Scott had ever imagined that he would be in his life, a superhero at the age of sixteen wasn't really one of them. Oh, he'd daydreamed about it. What healthy young man hadn't, especially one who enjoyed martial arts and helping others? But until the day that Rita Repulsa had escaped from her space dumpster and Zordon had chosen him and his four best friends to be the Power Rangers, he had thought it was nothing but a fantasy.

"Hey there, good-looking!" If that had been spoken in any other voice than the one it was, he might've thought they were talking to him. It wouldn't be the first time some girl around school had tried that line on him. For that matter, Zack had been known to say something like that if he were in one of his _seriously_ joking moods. But Skull wouldn't be that insane.

Jason glanced quickly over to Kim's locker to see if the young punk was bothering her again. He was slow to learn that his affections, such as they were, weren't appreciated by the young gymnast, and Jason considered it a part of his duties as Kim's friend to keep Skull at a proper distance.

But Kim and Trini were the only ones at her locker, talking animatedly about a shopping trip. Jason looked around again, and this time spied Skull, leaning against a locker and grinning at a tall young woman who was getting her books out. Jason didn't think he'd seen her around before. He was fairly sure that he would have remembered if he had. She wasn't that much shorter than he was, and her long dark hair was pulled back into a pony tail. She wore a comfortable pair of black pants and a green blouse. He couldn't tell what she looked like, since her back was to him, but he guessed she was cute. One thing that could be said for Bulk and Skull, they did notice who the really good looking girls were.

"I said something to you, cutie," Skull leaned in more closely, and Jason closed his locker a bit loudly. If Skull were being intelligent today, he'd hear that and perhaps pick up on the fact leaving people alone might be a good idea. "Didn't you hear me?" Or perhaps he wouldn't.

The girl turned a bit towards him, and Jason caught a glimpse of tanned skin and deep brown eyes. "I heard you."

"Well, then? Aren't you going to say something?" Skull's grin got even cheesier, if that were possible. Jason wondered where he got all of his lines. Bad midnight movies? "Like say…what's your sign?"

She closed her locker door and pushed her way past Skull calmly. "No loitering."

Skull blinked a few times, obviously taken aback, and turned to follow her. "Hey! Are you trying to say you don't like me?"

"You catch on fast."

Jason couldn't help but grin. He thought he might like her already. He swung his bag over his shoulder and headed over to cross her path. She looked to be new, and it wouldn't hurt to show her around a little.

"Hey!" he called out once he'd taken a few more steps closer to her. "That was pretty smooth." Now that he could see her from the front, he noticed that she was indeed as attractive as he'd thought. He thought she might have some Native American blood in her from the style of her cheekbones. There was also something hauntingly familiar about the way she carried herself.

She looked over at him, one finely made eyebrow arching as she did. "I don't suppose you're going to try to ask me out too."

Jason blinked a few times, then shook his head. Not that it hadn't crossed his mind; he was human, after all. But if she weren't interested, then she wasn't interested. "No, not really. The name's Jason, by the way. Jason Scott."

"Tommi Oliver." She nodded a little at him, then tugged a piece of paper out of her book bag. "Do you know where Ms. Applebee's classroom is? I'm supposed to go there for homeroom."

"Sure." Jason nodded and gestured down the hallway. "I'm going that way myself. Come on, I can show you around."

Tommi took a long look at him, then nodded slightly. "All right." She started walking and he joined her, pointing out some of the classrooms they passed along the way, and mentioning where a few of the doors went to.

"And here we are." Trini, Zack, Kim, and Billy were already in there when he entered, and he waved over at them. "Hey, guys! This is Tommi, she's just moved here."

"Welcome to Angel Grove." Billy said, smiling and waving a bit at her. "I'm Billy Cranston."

Tommi nodded at him, then at the others as they introduced themselves. She looked to be a little on the quiet side, but Jason hoped that once they all got to know each other, that would pass. _If we can._ He'd already noticed that some of the friends he'd had before becoming a Ranger had kind of faded out of his life, so to speak. There was never quite enough time to hang out like they had before, and he always had to watch what he said. It was just better to be with those who already knew what was going on and weren't going to be looking at him oddly when his watch beeped.

There wasn't much time left before homeroom began, and everyone settled in as Ms. Applebee entered and started to take the roll after the bell had rung. Jason groaned a little when it turned out that Skull was sitting right behind Tommi, though the new girl herself didn't appear to notice him at all.

That, of course, didn't sit very well with Skull. When the bell for first period rang, Skull started to poke at Tommi with a pencil. "Hey! Are you sure you don't want to go see a movie or something?"

Jason shook his head some; Skull was never going to learn. With the way Kim and Trini both kept turning him down, you'd think that he would. But he just _didn't_.

Tommi paid him no attention whatsoever, but only got up, slung her bag over one shoulder, and started to walk out the door. Bulk, however, proved true to his name and stood before her like an animate wall. "My buddy asked you out. You could at least give him an answer."

"I already did. I'm not interested." Tommi's voice was cool, almost on the verge of cold, and Jason frowned. That just didn't quite sound right for some reason.

"Hey!" Skull started to poke her with the pencil again, and Jason made to go over there. Tommi might not appreciate it, but he hated seeing someone pestered.

He stopped in his tracks, however, when Tommi reached out and calmly seized Skull's wrist and bent it backwards. There wasn't enough pressure to break it, but from the look on Skull's face, she could have done so if she'd wanted to. "Leave. Me. Alone."

She pushed him backwards, releasing his wrist, and turned towards Bulk. Jason didn't move an inch, but just watched, confused. _I thought she was nice._ She hadn't talked that much, but he just hadn't thought she would act like this at all. He couldn't hear if she said anything to Bulk or not, but the large teenager got out of her way as quickly as he could.

"She is _weird_." Zack spoke up from behind him, and Jason nodded a little. That was one way to put it.

"Come on, let's get to class." Kim was almost obviously trying not to look at the other girl. Jason glanced at her in concern.

"You all right, Kim?"

Kim nodded a bit, her eyes drifting over towards where Tommi had been. "Yeah. She just makes me nervous, that's all." The brunet laughed some and shrugged. "It's nothing. Let's go."

Classes went on as they normally did, and Jason tried his best to put Tommi out of his mind. She did keep wandering through there, mostly because it seemed she shared most of their classes. She seldom even looked at any of them, and after what had happened, Skull didn't appear to be all that interested in looking at her, either.

The last bell had just rung, when another sort of chime altogether sounded. Jason glanced at his communicator, then around a little. There were still several people in the halls, and one of them was Tommi. She turned towards him as if she'd heard the noise, and gazed at him for a moment. There was something that he'd never seen in any set of eyes before, something that sent a vague chill down his spine. Then she turned and left without a single word.

_Weird doesn't cover it._ Jason had no more time to think about it, because Zack, Billy, Kim, and Trini showed up just then. "Jason, did you hear that?" Zack asked, gesturing quickly towards the communicator.

"Yeah, I heard. Come on, I think that classroom's empty." The five of them hurried over, and Jason tapped the device quickly, putting Tommi out of his mind. It was time to work again. "Zordon, what is it?"

"Goldar and a troupe of Putties are in the park, attacking civilians. You had best take care of them." Zordon's voice came tinnily through and Jason nodded quickly, knowing that they were also being observed on the Viewing Globe.

"We'll be right on it!" It was hard to say just what Rita was up to, sending Goldar out like this. It wasn't the first time that had happened, but she usually sent Putties and a monster. Well, that would show up before the day was through. Rita was way too predictable.

Getting to the park from school was child's play, especially with all the experience they'd had doing so. And indeed, Putties and Goldar were there. The armored golden monkey laughed when he spied them, waving his sword.

"What took you so long, Rangers?" he mocked. "Let's get this started!" And with that, he charged, the Putties scurrying along beside him.

Jason was ready, though. He ducked under Goldar's blade and slammed a quick, hard fist into his armored stomach. Fighting him unmorphed wasn't the best idea, but there were still a few civilians who hadn't yet cleared out of the way. One or two were fighting a few stray Putties, and even doing a decent job of it. That was another fun fact about Angel Grove: you couldn't throw a brick without hitting someone who knew something about martial arts.

Out of the corner of one eye, Jason could see the other Rangers were also charging into the Putties, knocking them around as much as they possibly could. This probably wouldn't take too much longer, and then the monster would show up. He wondered what it would be today. They hadn't studied anything in class that would lead Rita to a monster, which was a tactic she'd used before. At least he didn't think they had. Trying to think like Rita gave him hives, so he didn't do it too often.

"All right!" Goldar backed off a few feet and looked around, the Putties gathering around him as he did. They looked as if they'd had enough of the fight. Jason was fine with that; it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a head start on his homework, after all, once this was over with. "I think it's time that you humans met Rita's newest warrior!"

"Oh, great, she's hiring more help?" Zack rolled his eyes. "What is it, some relative of yours, monkey face?"

Goldar laughed derisively. "You won't be saying once you see what's in store for you! Good luck, Rangers. You're going to need it!" And with that, he and all of the Putties vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Everything was quiet suddenly, and Jason looked at his friends. "What do you think he was talking about?"

No one had a chance to say anything, before another voice spoke from behind them. "He was talking about _me_."

All five of them turned at once, and as they did, a bolt of emerald green lightning struck the ground, sending them falling backwards. Jason didn't bother to wait to see what was coming out of the cloud of smoke that rose up. He was quickly learning in this war to pay attention to his instincts, and all of those instincts said three simple words, words that he called out quickly himself.

"It's morphin' time!"

There was a quick flash of red light across his vision, and when it cleared, his attention was caught almost at once by someone in green standing only a short distance away. Whoever it was gave him, and the rest, no chance for introductions. A green blur shot over to him, and for one of the few times in his life, Jason found himself facing an opponent as strong and skilled as he was. A powerful leg struck him in the stomach, while an equally powerful fist plowed into his chest, sending him stumbling back some.

Then he actually got a look at what this new fighter was wearing, and it was all that he could do to stop himself from just _staring_.

In all respects except the golden shield on the chest and shoulders and the color, the armor the other wore was identical to his, and to the other Rangers. "A Green Ranger?" Jason had only enough time to whisper the words before the other struck again, this time slamming fists and feet into Zack, throwing him quickly against Billy.

All things considered, it wasn't a fight. It was something on the order of a massacre: of the Power Rangers. Green Ranger struck harder and harder into them, pushing them farther back with every assault.

"Jase, we need to stop this guy!" Zack gasped, leaning against him while Green Ranger stalked Billy and Trini. The enemy fighter was all but silent after that first declaration, save for the occasional grunt when one of them landed a hit. That was unnerving in and of itself. "Got any ideas?"

"Let's see if he can take us all on at once!" Jason wasn't sure if the idea would work, but it was worth a try. They'd been letting Green Ranger run the fight, but that was over. He pulled out his laser pistol and aimed it at Green Ranger, the other four doing likewise. "Fire!"

Five beams of light shot towards the enemy, sending smoke and dirt flying and blocking the view for a few seconds. Jason gestured for them to stop, expecting to see Green Ranger down on the ground, or at least looking a little singed.

Instead, the other Ranger stood there, arms folded, and somehow, Jason was certain there was a smirk underneath the helmet. "Guys, I think…" His words were cut off by Green Ranger, not by anything that the other said, but by a blast of raw lightning coming from gloved fingertips. The five of them fell backwards, twitching. Jason didn't think he could so much as move, no matter how much he wanted to.

And as it dawned on him that Green Ranger was coming closer, he realized that he _did_ want to. Quite a bit.

Another difference in the armor now seeped into his mind as he saw those boots coming closer. Where his and the others had white, Green Ranger had black. Something about that scheme teased at his mind, only to be thrown out as Green Ranger kicked him in the stomach, knocking him over. The boot came down hard on his back, keeping him where he was.

"What are you doing, working for Rita?" Jason managed to spit the words out. "You're a Ranger, aren't you?"

He got no answer, at least not a verbal one. The boot just kept pressing down between his shoulder blades. Then there was something else, pressing against where his helmet fastened to the rest of his armor. He couldn't see what was going on, but he knew anyway: Green Ranger had a blaster pointed at his head.

"Green Ranger!" Rita's voice echoed all around, and for once in his life, Jason was glad to hear it. "Leave them be for now!"

Green Ranger didn't move so much as an inch, and Jason winced. This was not how he'd wanted today to go. Rita snapped again. "I said to leave them be!"

Jason let out a quick breath as the pressure finally eased up. Rita cackled briefly, and he leaped to his feet, followed by the others. There was no sign of the sorceress, but her voice sounded once more anyway. "I hope you enjoyed meeting my Green Ranger, Rangers. This is just the beginning! It's going to get worse from here!"

"You're never going to win, Rita!" Jason wasn't going to let something like that pass without some kind of response. "We'll stop you!"

Rita's twisted laughter was the only reply, then Green Ranger vanished in a twisted gleam of light, a kind of parody of their own teleportation beams. Jason ground his teeth; this was not going well. "Let's get to the Command Center," he said after a moment. "Maybe Zordon and Alpha will know something about this." They did about everything else that Rita threw at them, after all.

In five gleaming arcs of colored light, they lifted off of the ground and soared across the city and towards the desert. Teleportation took barely a few seconds, and then they landed in the Command Center.

Or what had been the Command Center.

Wires and damaged circuitry were everywhere. Someone had went to a lot of trouble to destroy as much of the computers and scanning devices as they possibly could. Alpha was slumped in a corner, burns on various parts of his robotic body and a few random lights blinking here and there. But perhaps what was worst of all was Zordon's tube: cracked as from a powerful blow, and completely, utterly empty.

Billy took a few steps forward, then stopped, not wanting to step on anything and possibly wreck it beyond his ability to repair. "What happened here?"

"Rita. It's got to be Rita." Zack declared, no more willing to move than Billy was. "Who else would it be?"

"But how?" Trini wanted to know, edging around as best she could in an attempt to get to Alpha. "How could she get in here? Didn't Zordon say this place was protected against her?" That had been part of what they'd all considered their 'orientation' meeting, after they'd accepted being Power Rangers.

Jason nodded, remembering what Zordon had said. "Only someone with a Power Coin can get past the defenses."

All of them stopped and turned towards each other. It was impossible, but it was the only answer. Kim was the one who said it. "The Green Ranger."

**To Be Continued**

**Notes:** Of course, you, the reader and knowing Power Ranger canon, knows who Green Ranger really is, what is up with Tommi, and who attacked the Command Center. Yes, the uniforms look like they do in the movie, armor and such. And Green Ranger doesn't have a skirt to her uniform, so the thought she might _be_ a girl hasn't yet crossed anyone's mind.


	2. Deceptive Doings

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters presented here and am not making any profit off of this whatsoever.  
**Story Title:** Pretty Poison  
**Chapter Title:** Deceptive Doings  
**Story Word Count:** 6,523  
**Chapter Word Count:** 3,341  
**Rated:** PG-13  
**Focus:** Tommy Oliver (well, technically Tommi Oliver)  
**Romance:** A couple of hints here and there of Tommi x Jason  
**Notes:** This happens a short while after the end of the last chapter. Comments and criticism gratefully accepted.  
**LJ Challenge:** This was written for the 10_switched challenge at Livejournal, written for the prompt of 'night'.  
**Summary:** What would the Green Ranger arc be like if Tommy Oliver were...Tommi Oliver? Just a little change.

* * *

"Repairing all of this is going to take days." Billy stared at the mess that the Green Ranger had made of all of the computers. It could even take longer. Who knew where spare parts for some of this could be found? Alpha might, but Alpha wasn't available at the moment. Repairing _him_ would be the first course of action, since he would know, presumably, how to put the rest of it all back together.

Jason was more than willing to leave all of that to Trini and Billy, however. The two of them were the ones who knew technical matters like that. "You two see what you can do to get started. If you can find anything that can give us a hint as to who the Green Ranger is and how Rita found him, let us know."

Both Trini and Billy nodded, and Jason could almost see the rest of them fading out of their awareness as they started to check Alpha over more intently. He himself looked at Kim and Zack. There wasn't a lot that they could do, besides try to clean up some of the mess.

"Guess we'd better get started, then," Zack said, almost appearing to have read Jason's mind. The Command Center was larger than it seemed from the command console, spreading out into nearly a hive of rooms that Jason himself had never had the occasion to look into, but that didn't mean they wouldn't get in each other's way if they didn't keep busy somehow.

Brooms were located, from a small supply closet that had been revealed a couple of weeks earlier when a minor victory celebration had resulted in some broken glasses, and sweeping began. With three of them working on it, it didn't take very long before everything that they could clean up, that didn't look as if it might be needed for repairs.

Jason glanced down at his watch and winced a little. "I need to get home for dinner." His parents were getting used to him showing up a bit late now and then, and he'd always been able to put most of their questions off with a few vague mentions of karate practice or bike riding. But he didn't want them to _really_ start asking questions. That might get into something that he didn't think he could answer.

"Teleportation is still online," Trini said, looking up from Alpha. "We can put you right in your backyard if you want."

He shook his head some; that was close, but too close. If his mom or dad happened to be looking, that would not be a good idea. "The park should be all right. It's not too far, I can walk the rest of the way."

Trini nodded some, pushing a sweaty strand of black hair out of her eyes, and went over to the teleportation unit. Why it was one of the few spots unharmed, they'd probably never know. But at the moment it was going to get him home without being too late, so he wasn't going to ask about it, either.

"Be careful." Kim touched his arm a little, concern in her brown eyes. "Rita's Ranger could be out there somewhere."

"I'll keep an eye out." Truth to be told, Jason was more worried about Kim or Billy running into the Green Ranger than he himself. The two were learning more about fighting, but they weren't on the level of the rest of them when they weren't morphed. That made everything a lot more dangerous for them.

The familiar brief moment of red flashed across his vision, and he was in the park. He knew Zack's family ate later than his, and Kim would probably grab something later, if her mom was too busy to cook, the way she tended to be. So they'd probably go home later without a problem. Trini and Billy…once they got into something, they probably wouldn't bother to eat at all. Kim was likely enough sticking around to make sure they did at some point. She was like that.

He checked around; it was just late enough so that no one was around to see him appear out of thin air. Trini probably wouldn't have put him anywhere near where he could've been seen anyway. He got his bearings, figured out where his house was from there, and started walking.

There was another reason for wanting that brief walk: it gave him a chance to at least try to put things into perspective. In the course of an afternoon, everything had somehow shifted a bit to one side, and he wanted to think about it all. Rita had a Power Ranger of her own. One who was _good_ in a fight. Was it because of the Power? It was hard to be certain, since the skills the Power gave were all but identical to ones that you could learn by yourself.

Perhaps because he was thinking about fighting, or because he was used to being attacked while alone after the last couple of months, but a chill ran down Jason's spine suddenly. Someone was out there. Someone was _watching_ him.

He tried to remain calm. If it was Rita's Ranger, then the others could teleport in if he needed the help. If it was just some one else, then he didn't have anything to worry about. There weren't too many people in Angel Grove that he didn't think he could take in a fair fight.

"You're Jason, right?" The voice was quiet, and only vaguely familiar, and he did something of a double take as he realized he was practically staring right at someone. How in the world had she shown up and he hadn't noticed? It wasn't _that_ dark was it?

Then he realized just who he was looking at, and relaxed some. "Oh, hey. Yeah. Tommi, right?" It was weird; if he hadn't known better, he might have thought she'd teleported in herself. But she was dressed in kind of dark colors anyway so it wasn't that surprising, now that he thought about it.

She nodded a little, and he noticed she was leaning against a fairly dark tree trunk, which had helped her blend in even more. "It's a little late to be out, isn't it?"

"Not really. I was just taking care of some things with the guys." That was about as vague as he could get. He did kind of miss the days when he could talk about anything to anyone, but it was a small price to pay, all things considered. "Hey, do you live around here?"

Tommi gestured across to where a few houses were vaguely visible through the trees. They weren't quite as close as they appeared, with at least two roads in between the park and there, but someone reasonably athletic could probably have crossed between the two areas without much effort. "We just moved in last weekend."

"You'll love it." Jason nodded, wanting to support the city he'd been born in. "Angel Grove's a pretty great place to live."

She glanced back over one shoulder, a little smile on her lips. Jason tried not to notice them very much. It wasn't easy. "Even with being invaded by aliens?"

"Even with that!" Jason replied without even thinking about it. "The Power Rangers keep most of the problems down."

Her gaze moved past him to some point over his shoulder. "You wouldn't happen to know where one of those might be right now, would you? Because I think we've got one of those problems."

Jason turned, falling into a battle-ready stance with the ease of long practice. Skittering towards them, making those odd noises that weren't precisely speech and weren't aimless mumbling either, were a good dozen Putty Patrollers. "Tommi! Get back and try to keep out of their way!" He didn't know if she knew anything about fighting, but he knew that _he_ did, and they were after him, anyway.

Then the Putties were on him, and he didn't have a chance to keep much of an eye on her. He thought some of them got by him to attack her, but with the seven or eight he could see around himself, it was a little hard to be certain. "Don't you guys have a bedtime or something?" he grunted, slamming his fist into one of them. This would be so much easier if they blew up or something when you hit them. Instead, all he could do was pound on them, get pounded on, and hope that he could knock them back or out enough so they'd get bored and leave.

He backed up a little, still ready to take on any of them, and the ones he was fighting fell back a bit as well. They didn't really have anything that could be called tactics, most of the time, but being swarmed tended to work for just about anything, even Putties. With a brief moment to catch his breath, Jason looked over to see what Tommi was doing…and ducked, just in time to avoid a Putty being thrown towards him.

"Hey, watch where you're throwing those!" he called out without thinking. A Putty to the head would definitely put a damper on his evening. Then he actually saw what was going on and stared in surprise.

Tommi had just seized another Putty by one wrist and whirled it around, slamming it into two more, then released the one she'd had, sending all three of them flying into a thick clump of bushes. There had been four of them on her, he guessed, since the rest were attacking, or had been attacking him. All four were out of it right now, and she turned towards the remaining ones.

That was all the breath he had the chance to get, too, since those remaining ones tackled him. He shoved back as hard as he could, wanting more room to maneuver, and still tried to watch for Tommi, wanting to know what she was capable of.

The style she was using wasn't one he was personally familiar with, but it was amazingly effective anyway. Without having to talk about it, they split the remaining eight putties between them. Jason punched and kicked and threw as hard as he could, slamming his opponents into each other, and spared any moments he had to watch Tommi. There weren't many moments that he _could_ spare, but the impression he got was that she knew exactly what she was doing from one moment to the next.

_She's incredible._ The thought wandered briefly through his mind, and only the fact he was in the middle of a fight kept him from thinking about it too much.

Finally, it was over with. Jason was streaked in sweat and wanted a shower. And something to eat. He hoped that his mom had made something good tonight; he fully intended to clean his plate and beg for more if he had to. Fighting took a lot of energy out of him.

"You're really good," he said, looking over at Tommi. Her hair had come out of the ponytail during the fight, and now hung around her face, framing it neatly. "I've never seen that style before, what is it?"

"Aikido. I've been training with it since I was about seven or eight," Tommi replied, looking around for a moment before she picked up something which turned out to be her hair band. "You're not bad yourself."

Jason was just a little too worn out after everything to think too much about anything beyond how glad he was that Tommi was a good fighter. That was a useful skill to have in Angel Grove. "If you want to spar or something, let me know. I haven't had a really good workout in a long time." At least not against someone who wasn't trying to kill him. Sparring against Tommi would be a refreshing change.

There were only a couple of lights here and there in the park, but they gave off enough light so that he could see her smile just a bit. "I think I'd like that. I'll let you know when I'm free." She glanced down at her own watch, then back up to him. "But I have to go now. I'll see you around?"

Jason winced suddenly when he checked the time himself. His mom was going to want to interrogate him for certain. "Yeah, I need to go too. Mom's going to kill me if I'm much later. I'll see you at school!"

He turned and headed off, taking a quick look back before he got too far out of sight. It was too dark, even with those few lights, now to see her, though he thought he saw something human-shaped moving against the shadows. It was hard to be certain, but it still was enough for him. But he didn't have time to sit and wonder about it.

"Jason Lee Scott!" His mother stared at him once he walked through the front door. "What have you been doing?"

Jason looked down at himself; he'd taken more damage in that fight than he'd thought. His clothes were a bit ripped, and he still needed that shower. "Just a little sparring. There's this new girl at school who's really good." He didn't really like lying to his parents, but stretching the truth was something he'd become so very good at.

"Is that what they're calling it these days?" His dad asked, looking at him from the other side of the room. Jason looked away quickly; he didn't want them to be saying things like that!

"Well, whatever." His mom patted him on the shoulder. "Go get cleaned up, you're just in time for dinner."

Jason didn't argue; a shower had been on his mind for ages. He paused by his room long enough to grab some clothes to wear afterwards, noting as he did that his schoolbooks were there. Trini or Billy must have thought to teleport them, since he'd left them behind earlier. He was going to have to be more careful than that.

_I need to see if they found out anything._ They wouldn't have been able to tell him while he'd been with Tommi, and now wasn't a good time either. And he needed to tell them about the attack anyway. It wasn't unusual for the Putties to jump them, if they were alone, but it wasn't too often they did it when there was just one civilian near by. It had been _known_ to happen, though, and that person tended to get involved with whatever Rita's latest scheme was.

The thought of Tommi, even as skilled as she obviously was, being held prisoner or worse by the Green Ranger made him slightly sick to his stomach. Their brief encounter had more than convinced him that Green Ranger was capable of just about anything, up to and including murder.

He had just dressed when his communicator beeped again. He snatched it up quickly before his parents had a chance to hear it. "What is it?"

"Everything all right? We got enough of the warning system back up to be able to tell there were some Putties near you, but we couldn't tell what was going on other than that." It was Trini's voice, full of warm concern.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I ran into Tommi again and we both got jumped by the clayheads." Jason closed his door as he spoke very low. "She's good in a fight. I'm going to see if we can get some sparring in soon."

"All right. I don't know how much more we can get done tonight, so we'll see you in school tomorrow. Keep an eye out."

"You too, Trini." Jason put his communicator down and headed back out to dinner. He'd already used up enough time, and he didn't think his mother would appreciate the food being held back much longer, even if he was trying to talk about the impending destruction of the world.

_Maybe we should send mom to deal with Rita._ No, he decided. The evil space witch wasn't _that_ nasty.

Now, the Green Ranger…

* * *

"Well done, Green Ranger." Rita all but preened as she looked at her newest servant. The one fight that had been battled against the Rangers had most certainly ended in their favor, and the dark sorceress savored the victory. Not to mention that Green Ranger had clearly put Zordon out of commission.

Of course, that annoying Blue Ranger was going to repair all of the damage as soon as he could, there was no doubt about that. But Rita had a plan for that in mind anyway. She would just have to wait for the proper moment to put it into effect.

In the meantime, there was quite a bit that could be done with her Green Ranger. Saving the Green Coin until now had been a stroke of genius on her part. Not just anyone could control it, after all. It had to be someone with a strong streak of darkness in them. Someone like this Tommi Oliver. It had been amazing that someone like that had arrived in Angel Grove, along with a full set of martial arts skills all of her own. The Power enhanced what was already there, which made the Green Ranger a death-trap that could walk, as far as Rita was concerned.

"That was brilliant, my queen!" Goldar rumbled, a pleased smirk on his lips. "The Rangers will never suspect that she is the Green Ranger now."

"I know." Rita smirked smugly. That had been another well done plan by her, conceived once she'd seen Jason walking home alone. Perfect. She'd already had some ideas, and seeing the way he had looked at her Ranger…they were getting more and more interesting. "Green Ranger, return to Earth and act normal. Do your homework, go to bed, all of that. I'll call you again when I need you. Finster, I have something to discuss with you."

She pulled him to the side, away from the rest of the idiots. Tommi was not one of those, of course, but this involved the Green Ranger to an extent. Not to the extent that she needed to know about it beforehand, though, even if Rita hadn't ordered her away.

"What is it, your greatness?" Finster asked, peering up at her through his spectacles. She hadn't asked for much from him since getting this started, but that was about to change.

"I need the strongest love potion that you can get your hands on, Finster." Rita smirked at the very thought. The thought of using something the Rangers prized so highly, love itself, against them was wonderfully delicious, and she couldn't wait to get started. "And it has to be something that can't be easily gotten rid of, even if they manage to get Zordon back." She doubted 'permanent' was possible, but it didn't need to be.

Finster folded his arms across his chest and stroked his chin thoughtfully. Rita had never asked him for something like that before. Normally it was Baboo who made potions for her, but this was probably a little out of his league. The most that amateur could have pulled off was a mild infatuation at best.

"I think I can manage that, my queen." He thought he recalled one especially effective recipe. He would have to look it up and he wasn't certain if he had all of the ingredients at the moment, but he would be able to get them. "What exactly do you have planned?"

Rita could not resist the chance to tell someone. This was too evil not to say something about, after all. "We're going to give that potion to the Red Ranger, and have him fall in love with my Green Ranger. He'll do anything that she wants him to do, even fight his own friends!" She threw her head back and laughed; finally, this war was going to end, _her_ way!

**To Be Continued**


	3. Call of Danger and Desire

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters presented here and am not making any profit off of this whatsoever.  
**Story Title:** Pretty Poison  
**Chapter Title:** Call of Danger and Desire  
**Story Word Count:** 9,639  
**Chapter Word Count:** 3,116  
**Rated:** PG-13  
**Focus:** Tommy Oliver (well, technically Tommi Oliver)  
**Romance:** A couple of hints here and there of Tommi x Jason  
**Notes:** This happens a short while after the end of the last chapter. Comments and criticism gratefully accepted.  
**LJ Challenge:** This was written for the 10_switched challenge at Livejournal, using the prompt of 'call'.  
**Summary:** What would the Green Ranger arc be like if Tommy Oliver were...Tommi Oliver? Just a little change.

* * *

Tommi put the last of her books away. Queen Rita had commanded that she do her homework and sleep, and she intended to do just that. It was all part of the necessary cover that she had to live with until her mistress chose to let her attack the Power Rangers again. She could hardly wait for that moment. To see all of them fleeing from her, but most of all, to have her hands close around the neck of the Red Ranger…

His face flashed before her eyes, and her fingers tightened as if she could throttle him right now. If only she could!

What he'd been like when they'd met earlier, it made her furious still. He'd been waving her to the side as if she were _helpless_! She, who had already defeated ten or fifteen Putties on her own even _before_ she'd been given the Green Power Coin. It didn't matter that he didn't know. It was his assumption that she wouldn't be able to take care of herself that sent hate spurting along her veins.

Queen Rita had some kind of a plan that would involve the Red Ranger's demise. Tommi was very certain of that. And she would be intimately involved, as her queen's greatest warrior. Her lip curled at the mere thought of Goldar. She might have to educate him about underestimating her sooner or later. The way that he had looked at her when he thought she wasn't looking needed to be dealt with.

She glanced briefly at the clock; it was getting late. She'd already worked out, even before the meeting with the Red Ranger, and she'd eaten before getting to her homework. But she couldn't say that she was actually all that tired right now. On the contrary, she felt incredibly energized, wanting to do something.

As long as she was ready when her mistress called, she didn't have to stay around here, she decided. And she always would be. Perhaps going out would help her burn off enough energy so she could sleep in the first place. She tossed a light jacket on and headed out, not bothering to leave a note for her mother. The older woman would be sound asleep until morning at any rate. Her new job was taking a lot out of her.

For a moment, Tommi's eyes softened as she glanced towards her mother's room. The divorce and the move had been somewhat difficult, and she knew that if her mother knew what was going on with her now, she'd be more than a little worried. _You don't expect your kid to participate in taking over the planet._

Then Tommi shook her head. It wasn't something her mother needed to be involved with, and when the time came, she would do what she could to protect her from harm anyway. Until then, Mom could just sleep.

She slipped out of the house, closing the door quietly behind herself, and headed down the street, towards an area that she'd overheard some kids talking about as a not very good area of town. That was fine with her. If someone tried to give her trouble, then they'd be getting trouble themselves. She quite looked forward to it.

Queen Rita had granted her a few extra powers, to be able to conceal herself more effectively from the Command Center's sensors, should they get repaired, as well as from the Rangers themselves if they happened to come across her training against Putties or something of that nature. It wasn't much, mainly a little illusion and misdirection, but she managed. Now, she would use it so no one who saw her now would recognize her as Tommi Oliver, if they knew her. You could never be too sure.

She had walked around for nearly ten minutes before she actually came across anyone. A small group, no more than four or five, standing underneath a streetlight and smoking. _They've probably watched every movie they could get their hands on about rebels without a cause. Or a clue._

"Hey, there, good-looking!" One of them who looked to be the leader called to her. Tommi took another few steps, as if she hadn't heard them in the first place. A sort of dark thrill shot through her, and she looked forward to them trying something. Anything. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

She glanced over, only the slightest hint of curiosity rippling across her features. "I heard you."

"Then come on over! Let's be friends!" He laughed, and it was echoed by all of his friends, with a sort of nasty edge that would have sent most girls walking on, if they'd even been there in the first place. Tommi had a different reaction.

"I don't need friends like you." In truth, she didn't need friends at all. All she needed was her Empress and to fight the Power Rangers. She took another few steps, and just as she'd known they would, the boys started to come closer.

"You shouldn't be so rude, little miss," the first one said. "We just want to have fun."

Tommi decided that this was quickly becoming boring. Nothing they said or did was anything she couldn't have predicted before leaving the house. It wasn't quite enough to deal with all of the energy surging through her, but what she had in mind would finish that, she thought. Or at least put enough of it to rest so that she could get some rest.

"You do? What a coincidence. _I_ want to have some fun, too." She smiled a bit, and one of the others paused, putting a hand on the shoulder of his leader.

"Um, maybe we should think about this. She looks kinda weird." He glanced towards her again, and Tommi only smiled a bit more widely. In the depths of her brown eyes, green light flickered, rising up and sparking, visible even to normal humans. "_Really_ weird!"

The first shook his hand off and kept coming closer. Perhaps he hadn't noticed, or didn't care. "So she's got special contacts." Or he was just an idiot. "Come on, babe, let's have some fun!"

"As you wish." Even as she spoke the words, he reached out to grab her by the arm. Tommi moved deftly out of the way, then seized his arm and bent it casually behind him. "I'm having fun, are you?"

"Huh? What?" He struggled as hard as he could, but her strength, even unmorphed, had been augmented by Rita, and there was nothing that he could do to get out of her grip. "Hey! What are you doing?"

Tommi smiled, and it was neither a sane smile nor one that anyone really wanted to see up close. "I told you already. I'm having fun." She tightened her grip harshly. "If any of you come any closer, I'll break his right arm." Oh, she hoped they didn't. She _so_ hoped that they didn't.

"She'll do it!" The 'leader' squawked rather childishly, and she tightened her grip even more. "Hey! Stop that!"

"Shut up. I didn't say that you could talk." She turned to look at the others again. "Well? What is it?"

All of them stopped and stared, though only a moment earlier they'd looked about ready to jump her. They probably thought she couldn't stand up to all of them. How little they knew.

Once they'd stood there for nearly a minute, she shifted suddenly, now with his other arm in her grip. "Good. As a reward, I won't break _that_ arm." She tightened her hold even farther. "I think I'll break this one instead."

He flailed, as much as he could which wasn't much at all, trying to look at her. "What? What for? Are you _nuts_?"

"There's only one reason I'm doing this." She leaned over and brushed her lips closer to his ear. "Because I can." And her hands tightened even more on him, until she heard a very satisfying _crack_.

The wanna-be rebel squealed like a pig as she dropped him, holding his arm close to himself and staring at her as if she were as hideous as Goldar. "You're _crazy_!"

Tommi smiled again, and the emerald flames in her eyes burst into full life, darting out at the group of them. "Yes. I am." All of them waited only a moment or two before they helped their erstwhile leader up and got out of there.

She watched mildly as they fled, then kept on walking. She didn't quite know this area as well as she would have liked, but if necessary, she had just enough magic from Rita's gifting to be able to teleport back to her house. The Power Rangers weren't going to be in any condition to track her at the moment.

_They're still too busy trying to get Zordon back._ She sneered; he'd never contact them again if _she_ had anything to say about it. If that meant going back in and undoing what they'd repaired, she would do that. And perhaps break quite a bit more while she was there. If their repair crew happened to be there, she'd break them as well.

That brought her mind back around to the Red Ranger. She _wanted_ to break him, into as many pieces as she could possibly manage, if not even more. The thought of keeping him around to extend the torture briefly occurred to her, and she denied it at once. Only an idiot would not dispose of a target the first chance that they had.

She just wanted to make it very, very painful first.

Returning home didn't take very long, and she discovered a shortcut that she thought might prove useful in the future. She got back inside, and was just about to enter her room when her mother's door opened and the older woman stood there, bleary-eyed. "Tommi? Did you go out?"

"I just went to the store, that's all." Tommi hoped that her mom wouldn't ask about why she didn't have anything on her. "How are you feeling?"

"All right. I think I just need one of my pills." The woman started to close the door, seemed to think better of it, then looked back at Tommi. "Have you made any new friends yet?"

Tommi smiled briefly, thinking of that pleasant sound of bone cracking, and the fear the Power Rangers had felt when she'd been unleashed. "I'm getting to know people."

* * *

Rita watched her Green Ranger go on to bed, a satisfied smirk on her lips. Finster was already at work gathering the ingredients for her love potion, but she needed something else. The Rangers were not likely to figure out what was going on once she had the Red Ranger as much under her thumb as the Green Ranger was. But they were still repairing the Command Center. That had to be stopped. Zordon could still show back up and ruin everything.

That meant that Billy and Trini needed to be gotten rid of. Or at least Billy. He was the one who really knew what he was doing, Trini was a glorified helper, if that much.

What to do, what to do. She needed someone else who would be able to distract him long enough for her Green Ranger to wreck the Command Center to make certain it was never repaired, even if Billy got back to it. She could always make a Putty look like a human, but it would still be a Putty underneath it all, and have brains made from clay. She needed someone tough, strong, smart, and able to act without needing her to tell them what to do all of the time.

Wait! She knew! Perfect! She raised her wand, concentrating with all of her might. If nothing had changed, then she knew exactly who she had to call. The seeking spell gathered at the tip of her wand, and then shot outward into the universe, seeking the person that she wanted most of all at the moment.

"Scorpina!" she declared, her voice reverberating in power. "Scorpina, your Empress summons you!"

There was no answer right away, then another voice echoed about, female and strong. "Mistress Rita! You're free!"

"Of course I am, you ninny. Get to Earth's moon, _now_! I have a mission for you!" Scorpina had been sent into a sleep a century or so before Rita herself had been trapped in the dumpster. Rita hadn't been able to work out how to get it undone in time before her own imprisonment, but with ten thousand years to work with, you could get a lot done.

Golden light coalesced into an armored human form just a few feet away, and there Scorpina was. She looked mostly human, except for that armor, and vaguely Asian in a way. She was actually a native of a distant galaxy, though she'd never spoken to Rita about her family beyond a few vague mentions of an older sister and a father. Rita wasn't all that fond of _her_ family so that wasn't a subject that she brought up too often herself.

"What kept you?" she grumped before getting down to business. "I've created a Green Ranger, one I intend to use to get the Red Ranger out of the way. But there's someone I need _you_ to keep busy for a while too."

Scorpina assimilated all of that, then nodded slightly. "Just tell me which one you want, and how long you want him out of the way." Good, that was exactly the attitude that Rita liked in her servants.

"The Blue Ranger." She gestured briefly, and an image of Billy, sound asleep in his own home at the moment, appeared. "You can do anything you want with him, just keep him away from their headquarters once I give you the word."

That got a brief nod. "As you wish, it shall be done." Scorpina saluted, then smirked. "Is Goldar still around?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Don't get too busy, though. I'll be needing you soon." Rita dismissed her; it was getting late as well for her, and she had much that needed to be set into place the next day. And none of it would get done if she didn't get her own sleep. Whoever said there was no rest for the wicked had never met Rita Repulsa.

* * *

Zordon struggled to make some kind of contact with either the Command Center or Alpha. Alpha did have some minor ability to communicate with the dimension that he was trapped in, though the Command Center's equipment made it so much easier. For now, if he _could_ connect, it would do.

He had scarcely expected that the Green Ranger would suddenly appear in their headquarters. The defenses had been designed to keep out those who did not have a Power Coin. He knew he should have redesigned them, just in case that Rita had chosen to give the Green Coin at last to someone. But there had been no indications that she had intended to do so.

It was imperative that he re-establish contact with the Power Rangers. They needed to know what was going on with Tommi Oliver as quickly as possible, to have any chance of saving her. He had known who she was the moment that she had arrived in there, of course. Even being trapped in a prison dimension the way he has hadn't dulled his senses that much.

He didn't know what else Rita might have planned, other than destroying the Rangers utterly, but it had to be stopped, and Tommi had to be freed. No true Power Ranger could ever be evil for long; the Power would not permit it. If the spell wasn't broken, then there was a very good chance the Power itself would backlash against the one misusing it. It had been known to happen before. That was why there were only six Power Rangers, instead of the seven that there had once been.

Billy and Trini had to be trusted to repair everything, but would it be in time? How much did they know about what had happened? Zordon had no way of knowing any of that, and finding out was beyond him at the moment. His power could not reach _that_ far. To know the identity behind a mask of the Power, yes. But to know what had happened in another dimension that he could not reach…no.

There were a few things that his powers could tell him, though not in the detail he wanted. A surge of evil flared through; someone new had arrived in the palace of the moon. Had Rita recruited another new warrior? It wasn't strong enough to be someone like Lord Zedd or Master Vile. If it was someone like Scorpina, the Rangers would need help even more. Her poison was quite nearly as deadly as her battle skills.

Despite that all the Rangers could see of him when the equipment was working properly, Zordon had an entire body in this dimension, and now he slammed his fists down on the console before him, swearing violently in his native language of Eltarian. Eltarian was not a very satisfying language for profanity, so he resorted to a few other languages before he began to try again. They would be working on repairing Alpha and the monitors. This nightmare _would_ end.

* * *

Billy slumped down in his desk's chair, yawning. He and Trini had been up for a good portion of the previous night, trying to get what they could done on fixing everything. He thought that they had made progress, but it was hard to tell. Alpha was more or less back online, but not in a condition for them to ask him questions. It would take some recharging and a system and memory check to be certain everything was working right.

"Class." He looked up a little as the teacher called for their attention. "This is a bit unusual, I know, but we have another new student. I'd like all of you to meet Sabrina Dubois."

She was tall. She was pretty, with a sweep of long black hair, and Billy suddenly realized he was blushing as she looked right at him. She spoke with the faintest hint of an exotic accent. "I'm so very pleased to meet _all_ of you."

Billy swallowed a bit and reminded himself that he didn't have time to be attracted to a face, no matter how nice it was. He had work to do after school, that involved saving the world.

But when she smiled at him, and wound up sitting beside him, it was a little hard to remember it.

**To Be Continued**


	4. Hearts Beating

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters presented here and am not making any profit off of this whatsoever.  
**Story Title:** Pretty Poison  
**Chapter Title:** Hearts Beating  
**Story Word Count:** 13,052  
**Chapter Word Count:** 3,413  
**Rated:** PG-13  
**Focus:** Tommy Oliver (well, technically Tommi Oliver)  
**Romance:** A couple of hints here and there of Tommi x Jason  
**Notes:** This happens about three days after the end of the last chapter. Comments and criticism gratefully accepted.  
**LJ Challenge:** This was written for the 10_switched challenge at Livejournal, using the prompt of 'romance'.  
**Summary:** What would the Green Ranger arc be like if Tommy Oliver were...Tommi Oliver? Just a little change.

* * *

Scorpina was a very adaptable warrior. She was as used to fighting in bed as she was in battlefield. There were those who called her an assassin, and she had no objections to being called one. She'd killed more than one person who thought she was the answer to all of their emotional needs.

Well, she cheerfully admitted to herself, they didn't have any more emotional problems, or problems of any other kind, after she was through with them. Unless one counted their disposition in whatever afterlife existed, which was out of her hands regardless.

This particular job was certainly one of the more interesting that she had ever received from Rita Repulsa. To distract a Power Ranger, and to have the use of a love potion if she wanted it.

Which she did not. Scorpina was quite proud of the fact she didn't need such a help in acquiring someone's affections if she wanted them. From what Rita had told her of the Blue Ranger, he was likely enough to be easily swayed by a pretty face and a little attention to his scientific experiments.

Which were, really, somewhat fascinating. He could have made an excellent minion of evil. Perhaps even still would. He was young, there was time to corrupt him properly. She licked her lips briefly at the thought. It would have to be considered carefully. To corrupt a Power Ranger, especially one of Zordon's Power Rangers, would be an incredible coup.

One step at a time. She wouldn't want to jump ahead and lose the chance. And she would have to get to know him better. There were some who were incorruptible. From what she had heard, and what she had managed to observe in the three days since she had come to Earth to join Rita's campaign, the Red Ranger was one of those. He might be distracted by the love potion, but there would be no corruption going on _there_.

Attending this school in the guise of a human not only gave her the first homework she'd had to do in over ten thousand years, but it also gave her an idea for something that she could do to play with her target's mind and hormones a little.

She waited for him after class; he would be on his way out to go to the Command Center and work more on fixing the damage that the Green Ranger had caused. She hadn't quite yet been able to distract him as fully as she'd wanted to, since she had no intentions of screwing this assignment up. But now she was ready to take that first step.

It happened more or less as she had planned it. She stood near the classroom door, having slipped out unnoticed, and stood carefully before a specific poster. This particular route was the quickest way out of school from that room, so there was no chance that Billy was going to miss her.

"I think if we work at it, we should have everything done by tonight," Billy spoke that to Trini, the Yellow Ranger. Scorpina's eyes narrowed briefly, but she replaced that with a bland smile, and at just the right moment, she stepped back to bump into him.

"Oh, excuse me!" She turned on her brightest smile now. "I'm so terribly sorry, I didn't meant to do that!" She'd made certain to bump all of his books out of his hands and reached down to start helping him with them. "I'm so, so sorry!"

"It's quite all right!" Billy shook his head even as he started to get his books together. "It was an accident, it could happen to anyone." As they stood back up, she turned her attention towards the poster.

"I was just looking at this, and wishing I could go." It wasn't the most subtle, but she didn't think he would notice if she _were_ subtle. It was hard to be certain. She didn't use love potions, but there was an extra quality to her perfume that did tend to have an interesting effect on men.

She paid little attention to Trini as she shifted, her gaze flickering briefly over to Billy as she did. Just as she'd presumed, he was staring intently at the poster before he took another look at her. "I fail to see why you would be able to attend. There are several young men who would be glad to take someone as attractive as you are."

Perfect. She concealed a smile, especially as Trini started to glare at her a little. "I haven't really met that many people. I don't suppose…" That little hesitation would be key.

"I…" Billy hesitated, the conflict plain in his eyes. It was part of being a Power Ranger and having a secret identity, combined with the current terror of the Green Ranger. Scorpina kept her smile to herself. They hadn't met her on the battlefield yet. She looked forward to when they did.

"Well, I have to be going. I'll see you around!" She waved brightly and started away. Small steps would get her what she wanted. Rita could argue about it all she wanted, but it would work out best in the end, and Scorpina was certain of that. She _did_ know what she was doing.

She was also quite certain that she saw Billy watching her, until Trini tugged at his shirt a little and got him moving again. _I wonder if I should try to get rid of her first?_ That could make things happen a touch quicker, and be satisfying at the same time. Scorpina had an especial distaste for Yellow Rangers.

That sort of thought kept her well occupied until she was out of the school and hidden from all prying eyes. The Command Center still wasn't in any condition to detect her. Green Ranger would likely enough pay another visit to it shortly, once she'd succeeded in distracting Billy to such an extent that he couldn't repair it properly. Once two of the Rangers were out of the way, it would be simplicity itself to dispose of the rest of them, and the planet would belong to Empress Rita.

In a swirl of golden light she teleported back up to the moon. Perhaps she would send that little Yellow Ranger a gift…something only she could provide. Yes. That would do quite nicely. And in its own way, would distract Billy even more once it struck. And there was no time like the present to take care of it, either.

Scorpina loved being evil.

* * *

Trini turned the corner and checked quickly to make sure that no one, especially Sabrina, was in sight. Something about her simply didn't sit right in Trini's mind, and she wasn't sure of why. The other girl was perfectly polite and while she obviously liked Billy, she wasn't really doing anything about it. Sure, just now there had been that kind of obvious attempt to get him to ask her to the dance, but there was nothing wrong with that.

"I think we're clear." She hit the right button on her communicator and everything around her dissolved into yellow brilliance. She was quite certain that she couldn't actually yawn while teleporting, but if she could have, she would have. Three days of working all but non-stop, save for school and necessary visits home to eat and sleep and do homework, was taking its toll.

Those visits were what was keeping the repairs from being done as quickly as they could be. They just couldn't fit everything into the scant hours they had available to them, and all of this was far too complicated to just wave a vaguely familiar tool at and hope that it would fix itself.

"I meant what I said before," Billy said as they reformed in the usual spot in the Command Center. "If we work at it, we should have everything for Alpha-5 finished by tonight."

"I hope so." She wasn't quite as confident as he was, but they had made the most progress with the robot, and once he was back online, he might be able to give them a hand with all of the rest of it.

Billy nodded; if he were still thinking about Sabrina, he gave no sign of it as he went over to where Alpha stood, still motionless as he had been since before they'd arrived there on that day, and started to get to work on him. She came over with one of the scanning tools she'd found that was meant to judge just what his state of operations was. There were just enough tools for to form the belief that Alpha was supposed to keep virtually everything running, which was why everything was bent towards keeping _him_ running.

Her thoughts kept drifting back towards Sabrina. She hadn't done anything at all that should be giving Trini this bad feeling, but it was there all the same. She had never thought about being even remotely psychic, nor was she even certain if such things existed. Magic did, or so she'd come to admit since taking on her morpher, but was it something that humans could do? Again, something else she wasn't sure about.

"Trini, could you hand me that?" She jumped slightly, a bit ashamed of having been caught daydreaming, then handed over the screwdriver that Billy wanted. "Are you all right?" Her friend looked at her, concern in his light eyes. "You seem somewhat distracted over something."

"It's nothing," she shook her head and brought her mind to focus on the subject at hand. She didn't even want to ask him if there was someone he did want to take to that dance. There were more important matters to deal with.

Billy kept on working, his eyes serious and intent and focused. Perhaps half an hour had passed before he finally closed the last panel and stood up. "I think that should do it."

"Are you sure?" Trini wouldn't have asked, if this scenario hadn't happened twice already. Billy's eagerness to know had always far outstripped what he _did_ know about all of Zordon's technology.

_Zordon. I hope he's all right._ Billy had reassured all of them that since Zordon wasn't physically connected to this universe, then there was nothing that Rita or the Green Ranger could actually do to hurt him. He would just be cut off from them until they could get everything repaired correctly.

"Affirmative." Billy nodded, then both of them stepped back as Alpha's lights began to circulate once more. The small robot straightened up after a moment or two, and a slightly emotionless voice came from his voice box.

"Alpha-Five unit, rebooting." There was another few minutes of silence, that neither of them could bear to break, until Alpha began to speak again. "Billy! Trini!" This time, he sounded far more like the Alpha that they knew and liked so well. "What has been happening?"

"You were damaged by Rita's Green Ranger," Trini told him. "She did a lot of damage to the Command Center as well. We haven't been able to get in touch with Zordon either."

Alpha turned his head all around, taking in everything. "I'll see what I can do to get everything back together. Billy, will you help me?"

"Of course!" Billy's tone indicated that the question was beyond ridiculous. There was absolutely no question that he would not help. "Trini, you look like you need a little more rest. You should go home."

Trini wanted to protest. There had to be something that she could do to help. But the need to sleep had been tugging at her for just a little too long, and perhaps if she did, she wouldn't be thinking those strange thoughts about Sabrina.

"If you need me for anything, let me know." She said, compromising slightly. "And you should get some rest too."

She didn't wait around for anything else; Billy would agree if he wanted to, and she would still not be surprised to come back there in four or five hours and find he was still trying to put circuits together and weld panels back into place.

Again the light took her, and she found herself at her favored spot of return when teleporting home. She waited only just long enough to be sure that no one was going to be around, then headed on towards her home. Her parents wouldn't be back from work yet, so she had some time to settle in and look as if she'd been there the whole time.

One of the small chores she had to do on the days when she got home before them was to take in and sort out the mail. That wasn't so difficult, especially not on days like today when there wasn't much. A couple of bills which she set aside for her parents to look at, a letter for her from Uncle Howard, and a small box of some kind. She looked at that and blinked. Her uncle had sent her something? Well, it wasn't the first time. He'd forgotten her last birthday, so maybe this was something to make up for it?

She opened the box and blinked. He had certainly made an interesting choice if that was what this was for. A brooch, shaped like a gleaming scorpion, gleamed up at her. She wasn't sure where she'd wear it, but she'd have to remember to thank him for it. She carried the box and the letter back to her room; she wanted to try to get in a nap before having to do her homework and dinner.

In the box, the scorpion brooch gleamed once again, and the small emerald eyes glowed for a moment.

* * *

Tommi considered just what Empress Rita had told her about her plan to distract and incapacitate the Red Ranger. It made sense, and there was a great deal to recommend it. But there were still misgivings stirring around in her thoughts.

_He's the enemy,_ she decided. That was what was bothering her about it. She wasn't supposed to kiss him, even in deceit, even with his will being bound to hers by the love potion. She was supposed to destroy him, and _that_ was what she wanted to do.

Perhaps if she hadn't been her queen's warrior, she might have let herself consider it. It wasn't as if Jason were hideous or nasty. On the contrary, he was quite attractive and very much a gentleman in many ways. The kind of guy she might have liked, if her queen hadn't chosen her.

But, being that she had been, it wasn't to be thought of. Any dating that happened now was because Rita demanded it of her, and as always, Tommi would do as she was commanded.

She ran her hand lightly down the Sword of Darkness, liking how it felt in her hand. It was beautiful, really. Rita had given it to her the day before, after she'd defeated a small army of Putties, and even one of Finster's monsters. She wanted to attack the Rangers again, and unleash her powerful DragonZord on them. Just the thought of it made her eager.

_Soon. Soon._ Though to be honest, the thought of attacking with DragonZord and Tyrannosaurus DinoZord side by side was a fascinating and enticing one. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to have the Red Ranger working with her.

She slipped the sword back into the dimensional pocket where she kept it when not in battle, then slid something else out of there. It was a long, slender vial full of a liquid that glowed a faint pink. Finster had given it to her just after she'd gotten out of class for the day and had went up to the moon palace to see if her queen had any orders for her. She'd known it was coming, but to hold it in her hands…

Now she had to find a way to get it into something Jason would drink. There was one way, and it would likely enough work. She turned her steps towards the Youth Center, hiding the vial back in the dimensional pocket. It would be much, much safer there.

Jason was there when she arrived, working out with Zack. She would do some of that herself when she got a chance. She preferred to spar against the Putties. They weren't as good as she was, of course, but she could go full force against them, which was a little difficult when dealing with normal humans. Her queen had granted her enhanced strength that affected her when she was unmorphed, to give her a bit of an extra edge against the Rangers.

She already knew what drink he liked best; that sort of detail came easily when one had been watching the leader of the enemy as close as she had. _I'd better get one for Zack, too, or someone might suspect something._ She ordered the three drinks, making sure to ask one of the teenage employees and not Ernie himself. Something about him made her a little nervous, as if he saw more than he was supposed to.

Once she had them, she carried the three glasses to the nearest empty table to watch for just the right moment to occur.

No one else was looking in her direction, and Zack and Jason didn't even seem to have noticed she was there. Perfect. She sipped her own drink, then shifted carefully, letting her free hand pass over the other drink, as if shooing away a fly. With a light twitch, the vial was in her hand, and she flicked the top off, letting the potion within drain into the drink as quickly as possible. Sending the vial back, she leaned back more comfortably and waited for them to be done.

That didn't take long at all; she had judged pretty well how close they were to being finished. "Hey, Jason! Zack!" She waved over at them. "I've got a couple of drinks here if you guys want them."

"Hey, thanks!" Zack grinned and took the one that she held out to him. "Tommi, right?"

She nodded, watching as Jason wiped off the sweat and took the drink once she held it out to him. She fought to remain as calm as possible; not by so much as a hair must she betray what she was doing. Once the liquid slid down his throat, she shifted a bit and looked directly at him. Finster had been quite clear on the instructions. Jason would fall in love with the first female that he saw after he took the potion. She could not let someone else take that.

"I hope I got the right flavor for you," she said, pitching her voice just a little lower when she spoke. Jason glanced towards her, and stopped, his eyes widening some as if he was just now _seeing_ her for the first time. "Did you like it?"

"Uh…yeah. It was really great." Jason didn't take his eyes off of her and started to sit down. "Hey, you haven't had any more trouble from those Putties, have you?"

She shook her head briefly. "I haven't seen any more of them since that night. What about you?" She knew that a few Putties had cropped up now and then, but nothing very serious. Would he tell her that?

"A little. It kind of happens around here." Jason just shrugged a little, and she smiled briefly. He grinned back at her, a little more goofily than she had seen him smile before. The potion was indeed working on him.

She sipped at her drink a little more and decided to test it briefly. "I need to get a little practice myself. Could you watch my drink, please?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! No problem!" Jason shifted around to where he could watch both her and the drink as she headed towards the changing room to get into her training gi. She couldn't see or hear them, but she had an idea of what their conversation was going to be like, especially once she got back.

She changed quickly and emerged onto the practice floor. She poised herself where she could see them without it being obvious and was not at all surprised that they were indeed watching. Jason looked more or less stunned. She smiled to herself. This was only the beginning.

**To Be Continued**


	5. Here, Boy

**Disclaimer:** All canon-based characters, situations, and plotlines are copyright to their original owners, creators, and designers. I make no profit, nor want any.  
**Story Title:** Pretty Poison  
**Chapter Title:** Here, Boy  
**Story Word Count:** 16,612  
**Chapter Word Count:** 3,110  
**Romance:** Tommi x Jason  
**Rated:** PG-13  
**Genre:** Romance, Adventure  
**LJ Challenge:** 10_switched: Set #5, random 2: prompt #9, pet.  
**Notes:** This is going to be an alternate version of the Green Ranger arc, positing how things might have been different if Tommy Oliver had been born female, Tommi Oliver.  
**Summary:** What would the Green Ranger arc be like if Tommy Oliver were...Tommi Oliver? Just a little change.

* * *

Billy sagged back against the console, trying not to knock over too many of the tools scattered there as he could. He hadn't been this tired in ages. Little odd thoughts, scraps of memory, kept wandering around in his mind, as always tended to happen when he was too tired to focus on what he felt was actually important. He kept seeing Sabrina's almond-shaped eyes looking at him, with a slightly taunting and amused tilt to her lips at the same time. Had she been trying to get him to ask her to the dance? It seemed likely, yet at the same time, she was more than attractive enough to be able to date anyone she wanted.

He tried to push that out of his mind. He had to think about what he and Alpha were doing, not on any upcoming festivities. Especially since there were still a couple of weeks until the dance itself. Hopefully by then everything they'd been going through with the Green Ranger would be over and done with.

"Billy?" Alpha tapped him on the wrist and he looked up, reaching up to rub at his eyes at the same time. "We have everything repaired. We just need to allow a short while for the power supply to recharge itself enough to contact Zordon once again."

"How long?" They'd done it. They'd fixed everything that the Green Ranger had destroyed in that assault. He could hardly believe his eyes, or his ears. But when he looked around, despite all of the tools and scraps of wire in the area, it was obvious.

"At least seven hours for a minimum charge. Normally it wouldn't take that long at all, but because of the damage, it's best to be safe." Alpha told him. Billy nodded; that was yet another tool he would need to put in his mental arsenal. He yawned and rubbed the back of his neck a bit now. "You should go home and get some rest, Billy."

Billy wanted to tell Alpha that he didn't need it. That he was fine. But the fact he opened his mouth to do so and was caught by a huge yawn caused a change of heart. "I think you're right." Besides, the place could power up without his needing to be there. "Call me if you need anything, Alpha."

"I will!" The robot agreed. Billy tapped his communicator and a moment later was in his own garage: his preferred arrival spot when teleporting home. No one ever argued when he came from there and they hadn't seen him go in.

He paused and listened for a few moments, then headed on inside. His dad wasn't home yet. All to the good; he could make himself something to eat and crawl into bed. Homework would not be that difficult; he could do it before he went to class the next day.

Once again, thoughts about Sabrina began to slide around through his mind, and there wasn't that much he could do to stop them. She was pretty, and from the questions she'd asked and answered in class, she was smart as well. She was different from most of the girls that Billy knew as well, with a strong hint of the exotic that sent his senses reeling.

_Maybe I should ask her to the dance._ What would it hurt? It wasn't as if it were something permanent. It usually wasn't, in his case. He'd taken out other girls, most recently Marge, but it never really continued after that. _I'll ask Trini and Kim what they think,_ he decided. Zack was still mooning over Angela and would likely enough tell him just to ask Sabrina out in the first place, and Jason was so struck with Tommi that it wasn't likely he'd even notice another girl existed.

He nodded to himself; he would ask Kim and Trini's advice, and knowing them, he would probably be asking Sabrina out very soon.

In fact, now that he thought about it, it would be very likely that the Green Ranger would be finished soon. In just a few hours, the length of a good night's sleep, they would have contact with Zordon restored, and he would be able to help them figure out who it was and how to stop them.

Caught up still in his relief that this nightmare was virtually over, Billy made himself a quick sandwich and settled down in his room, scarcely tasting the food as it went down his throat. It only took his eyes being closed for a few minutes before he was soundly asleep, his dreams full of dark eyes and dancing.

* * *

"Later!" Jason waved farewell to Zack as he and Tommi started away from the Youth Center. He barely looked at the other Ranger, however. He saw Zack every day. Tommi, Tommi was something else. Something wonderful. Something indispensable. Someone that he'd never dreamed that he could meet until he had met her. Now he didn't want to get away from her at all. The thought of just going home and not seeing her until the next day was all but revolting.

He shivered as they turned the corner, and Tommi's hand slipped into his. Every other thought seemed to vanish out of his mind at the feel of her hand in his. He hadn't held hands with many girls, but he'd sparred enough with Kim and Trini to get an idea of what their hands were like. Tommi's were somewhat wider and stronger than Kim's, and more developed with muscle than Trini's.

He ran his thumb a bit along the palm of her hand and looked over to see what she thought of it. It was so good to be around a girl who could just about look him in the eyes. Her eyes were so beautiful as well, warm and brown and full of heat and life.

"Tommi," he said, a sudden thought crossing his mind. "There's that dance coming up in a couple of weeks. You're not going with anyone yet, are you?" _Please say no, please say no, please say no._

She shook her head a little, and nothing but joy shot through him. Now, for the next question. "Would you like to go with me?" _Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes._

"Of course I would." Tommi smiled just a bit at him. "I had a feeling that you were going to ask." He liked the way that smile looked. So completely beautiful.

He glanced around a bit; it was dark and there weren't too many other people around, so maybe…yes. He leaned forward, closer towards her, and brushed his lips across hers. He hadn't kissed many girls either, and most of the time it had been rather awkward when he had. This was still kind of strange and startling, but as she kissed back, he couldn't imagine it having been any other way, or with any other person.

She leaned closer, kissing more aggressively, and ran her fingers through his hair before she pulled back, then tugged him over to a concealing alleyway. "You really like me, don't you, Jason?"

"Tommi, I don't think I've ever felt like this for anyone before in my entire life," Jason declared, not taking his eyes off of her for so much as a moment. "I'd do anything for you. Anything at all."

That smile was still beautiful but there was a slightly chillier edge to it now. Jason still thought it was wonderful. He was giddy with delight, and aching to do something that would show how much he loved her.

She played with his hair again, and Jason found it a bit difficult to stand steadily. Her touch could do what armies of Putties and Goldar couldn't. "There's going to be something that I want you to do for me soon. Not tonight. But tomorrow."

"What is it?" Jason could not form too many other words, much less thoughts, but he did manage that much. Anything, anything at all that would please her.

"You'll find out tomorrow. It's going to be a surprise and I don't want you to tell anyone else about it, do you understand?" Tommi stepped back some. "I'd have to be angry with you if you did."

Jason shook his head quickly. "I won't tell anyone." Whatever she wanted, it would be done, as quickly as he could manage. She leaned in again and kissed him, passionately and deeply.

"Good. I expect you to keep your word. Now, let's go." She reached down and took his hand again, walking onward. Jason nodded and kept pace with her, hardly able to control his joy. He paid very little attention to what was going on around them, and instead focused on Tommi and what he would have to do for their date. The thought of what her request might be didn't even cross his mind.

When they reached his house, he all but sighed audibly. Tommi just tapped his hand. "Go home, go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow." There was such firmness and command in her tone that even if he'd wanted to, he couldn't have turned her down. And wanting to do something she didn't want him to do was the very last thought on Jason's mind right now.

* * *

Scorpina glanced over and saw the Green Ranger coming towards her. There was a satisfied smirk on those lips that she'd seen on her own more than once.

"You gave it to him?" Not having her own advantages, the female Ranger would have used Finster's love potion at the earliest opportunity.

"And it worked completely." Tommi very much enjoyed the effect she had on Jason now. She hadn't thought she would, but seeing him at her beck and call was intoxicating. She could hardly wait for the next day, when she would make her request of him, and he would give her what she wanted.

Scorpina nodded slightly, her fingers tapping about the edge of her sword. "Would you like to spar some?" It had been some time since she'd fought against an opponent who was close to being her equal. Goldar was too easy to beat, despite his power. That was _all_ he had, no cunning or grace at all. She let him think otherwise, looking forward to the day when she could ram her stinger into his throat.

Tommi tilted her right hand a little, snapped her fingers, and the Sword of Darkness appeared there. "As you wish. Where?"

"This way." The castle had many rooms that were untenanted, what with Rita's staff and court consisting of less than ten sentient beings. But Scorpina had explored and had found a wide room that would do nicely for a training room for herself. It was there that she led the Green Ranger now.

No sooner had they both passed over the threshold, than Tommi leaped for Scorpina, grabbing for her sword arm. Scorpina moved back fluidly, bringing one foot around high and hard to slam into the other woman's elbow. If she'd still been holding the Sword of Darkness, Tommi might have lost it then. But she'd already slipped it back into its hiding place, ready to be summoned forth again at need.

For the moment, she had to take the hit hard, and she knew there would be a bruise there. That was something to deal with later, though. She drove a hard punch towards Scorpina's stomach, sweeping towards those armored feet with her own booted ones at the same time. Scorpina managed to jump over, but a quick shove sent her stumbling back as well. This fight was just beginning.

Back and forth the two went, their swords eventually clanging against one another, echoing throughout the palace. Putties came by, possibly to check and see if somehow or other the Power Rangers had invaded, but when they saw just Scorpina and the Green Ranger sparring, had at least enough higher quality clay in their heads to avoid interfering.

"Well done, well done!" Both of the warriors jumped back, turning towards the door nearly as one. If it had been a true threat, they would have turned all of their combined powers on whoever had been there. Instead, it was just Rita herself. They both bowed, their weapons vanishing, and she rustled her way into the room. "I trust this means you're ready for tomorrow?"

Tommi nodded, bowing her head low. "I've done everything exactly as you commanded, my queen."

"Good, good." Rita patted her servant on the back of the head. "Good girl. By this time tomorrow, the Command Center will be no more, and the Power Rangers will be nothing but a memory!" She laughed wickedly, in the clear enjoyment of what was planned for the next day. "Go get your sleep. You're both going to need it."

Scorpina straightened up as the evil queen left. As far as she was concerned, this had been a light workout that had scarcely caused her to break a sweat. Tommi did look a bit more worn out, though. It was probably caused by her lack of full fighting experience. That could be changed, with enough time.

"We have a lot to do tomorrow." The Power Rangers would be amazingly lucky if they survived the entire day. Some of them might, but their survival might be worse than their death, at least from some points of view.

She did so hope that the Blue Ranger was one of those survivors. She'd just barely begun to scratch the surface of what could be done with him.

Tommi nodded slightly, then vanished in a swirl of dark green. Scorpina watched where she had been for a moment. _I wonder just how much she can be trusted. Rita's spells are powerful, but they aren't unbreakable._ As much as she had enjoyed what they'd just done, it would be wise to keep an eye on the Green Ranger.

* * *

Five sparkles of light fell into the Command Center, resolving into the five Power Rangers. Alpha turned towards them, the lights on his helmet buzzing more and more quickly. "Rangers! I have good news!"

"Billy told us." Zack said, grinning and looking up at the plasma tube where Zordon's face usually appeared. "So how's it going?"

"Just one moment and you'll see!" Alpha tapped a few buttons, pushed a switch or two, and light crackled across the tube, resolving into the familiar look of their mentor.

"Zordon!" Five voices chorused their joy. Jason stepped forward some.

"Good to see you again!" the young leader declared. Zordon bowed his head a little towards them.

**Likewise, Power Rangers. But we are still all in grave danger. Rita Repulsa has given the Green Power Coin to a chosen warrior. It is that warrior who attacked the Command Center and interrupted our communications.**

"Yeah, we figured that much out." Zack said. "That Green Ranger's a real pain. Haven't seen a lot of them, though."

Zordon nodded briefly and was about to say something else when the alarms began to ring. Alpha checked quickly then whirled to look at the Rangers. "Green Ranger is in the park, and is not alone. Scorpina is there as well."

"Scorpina?" Kim frowned at the name. "Who is that? I've never heard of them before."

**Scorpina is a powerful female warrior from another galaxy. Do not underestimate her. She is an assassin and a spy as well. Keep your guard up.** Zordon told them. The Viewing Globe also revealed that the two warriors had a small army of Putties there with them, and civilians were being harassed this way and that.

Jason glanced more closely at where they were, and his eyes widened. _Tommi lives around there! She could be in danger!_ "Guys, we've got to get over there! It's morphin' time!"

He didn't bother waiting for everyone else; he simply grabbed for his Power Coin and morphed, teleporting as he did. The sheer thought of Tommi in danger set his brain on fire. Reality blurred around him and when it reset itself, he stood in the park, with teenagers and some adults running this way and that.

"So you're here, Red Ranger," the Green Ranger's voice was a dark purr of black velvet. "So nice to see you. But this isn't a party for one. Where are your little friends?"

Jason barely had a chance to take a step forward when the other four materialized around him. He grinned underneath his helmet. "They're right here, Green Ranger! So let's get down to business!"

He had now taken a couple of more steps, when Zack's armored hand came down on his shoulder. "Wait, man. Zordon told us something. You're going to want to hear this." He sounded worried, but Jason pushed the hand away. He didn't want to take the chance on Tommi being hurt. Sure, she could defend herself against Putties, but Green Ranger and Scorpina were a different order of magnitude.

"Oh, I think you should hear it too," Scorpina laughed, pointing her sword at them. "If it's what I think it is, then we both want you to hear it, don't we?"

"Indeed." Green Ranger laughed briefly. "Or perhaps I should tell you myself, Jason."

That voice…Jason hadn't been quite paying that much attention to who it sounded like, but now that he thought about it. It was familiar. Far, far too familiar. His head spun and he clenched his fists. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, just this, first." Green Ranger waved a gleaming blade that was held in one armored hand, and emerald flames leaped up all around the Rangers and their enemies, rising high enough that no one could see what was going on from the outside.

"I don't like this," Kim muttered, moving a bit closer to Trini as she did. "What's going on?" After what Zordon had told them…what else could possibly happen?

Green Ranger flicked the dark blade away, and then reached for the latches on the helmet. "You made a promise, Jason. You're not going to go back on your word, are you?" And the helmet was lifted away, and a long dark brown pony tail of hair spilled out, and when she moved the helmet aside, a face they had seen in the halls and at the Youth Center was now blindingly clear.

Jason could hardly believe what he was seeing at all. He swallowed a few times. He wanted to rub his eyes, but his own helmet was still on. This had to be a joke, a trick. He couldn't be seeing it. Couldn't be seeing _her_.

"Tommi?"

**To Be Continued**


	6. Battle and Bravery

**Disclaimer:** All canon-based characters, situations, and plotlines are copyright to their original owners, creators, and designers. I make no profit, nor want any.  
**Story Title:** Pretty Poison  
**Chapter Title:** Battle and Bravery  
**Romance:** Tommi x Jason  
**Story Word Count:** 19,971  
**Chapter Word Count:** 3,359  
**Genre:** Romance, Adventure  
**Rated:** PG-13  
**Status:** 6 of 10 chapters  
**Notes:** This is going to be an alternate version of the Green Ranger arc, positing how things might have been different if Tommy Oliver had been born female, Tommi Oliver. Comments and criticism gratefully accepted.  
**Challenge:** : Set #5, random 2: prompt #3, fall  
**Summary:** What would the Green Ranger arc be like if Tommy Oliver were...Tommi Oliver? Just a little change.

* * *

Tommi's lips were curved into a wicked, triumphant smile as she looked at Jason. "Are you surprised?" She hoped that he was.

"Tommi…I don't understand." Jason shook his head, trying to clear his sight. Was this something that Rita was doing to trick them? Making them think that Tommi was the Green Ranger when it wasn't? "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm destroying everything and everyone that stands in the way of my queen's conquest of Earth." Tommi said, tightening her grip on the sword in her hand. "If that means you, then so be it. But I don't think you want me to do that, do you?"

He shook his head again, wincing as he did. This was _not right_. He'd never had a headache while morphed before, but now one throbbed and ached behind his eyes.

"She's got you under a spell, Tommi!" Kim declared, stepping forward to stand beside Jason. "Zordon told us about it! You've got to fight it! You don't want to do this."

Zack nodded, also taking up a position on Jason's other side. Both of them were just a little too close to him than they might normally have been. "If you're a Power Ranger, then you shouldn't be working for her."

"I am a Power Ranger, and I serve Empress Rita, now and forever." Tommi was not in the mood to listen to them. "And her command is for me to destroy you all!" She slammed her helmet back on and leaped forward a heartbeat later, aiming her sword directly towards Zack's chest.

"We've got to stop her!" Trini lunged forward, attempting to suit actions to words. It was not quite that easy, however, as Scorpina blocked her, a mocking smile on her own lips. "So you're Scorpina, huh?"

"That I am." The alien warrior woman replied. "And I've got some surprises of my own up my sleeve, Yellow Ranger."

Trini took up a firm battle stance, ready to do anything. She couldn't see what was going on behind her, but from what she could hear, the others were having a hard time with the Green Ranger. At least she could make things easier on them by keeping Scorpina occupied.

"What are you talking about, surprises?"

That got a laugh as the other attacked swiftly, her blade striking hard into Trini's arms, only turned aside by the armor. "If I told you, then they wouldn't be a surprise anymore. But you'll find out, very soon."

Trini wanted to get more details, but not only did she not think that Scorpina would share them, she didn't have time to ask. Not with the blows that the scorpion warrior kept raining down on her, and the blocking and attacking she had to do in order to keep herself in one piece. Once in a while she got a glimpse of the others, and just as she'd thought, it didn't look too good for them.

"Stop this, Tommi!" Jason tried to grab hold of the Green Ranger, wanting to get through to her, to find out what grip that Rita had on her mind and break it.

"No, Jason. This is what I want." She struck quickly, avoiding his grasp and knocking his feet out from under him with a hard strike. Just as she had the first time that she'd fought them, she stood over him, one foot on his chest. She glanced lazily at the other Rangers. "One more step and I'll run him through." Her blade's edge gleamed briefly in the sun as she admired it.

Zack held his arms out, preventing the others from moving forward. After what Zordon had told them, they'd hoped that they would have been able to prevent Jason from being hurt by Tommi somehow. Unfortunately, that hadn't quite worked out the way that they had planned. "She'll do it," he said. The tenseness in her shoulders spelled it out plainly.

Tommi chuckled for a moment. "Yes, I would. But I have other plans for the Red Ranger." Jason jerked and squirmed for a moment, until she pressed down harder on his chest with her boot. "Don't make me kill you."

"What do you want?" Zack asked warily. Sure, she'd said that she was going to destroy them, but with what she was doing to Jason…he wanted more information.

"I told you that once already. The fact I have other plans for _him_ doesn't mean that I'm not going to kill all of _you_." One gloved hand caressed across Jason's armored chest, then down to his belt. "But this is going to have to go."

She pressed one hand against his belt, and a surge of green energy shot from her hand towards it, surrounding Jason entirely. He bucked underneath her, and if her eyes could have been seen, they would have been staring with the interest of someone watching a pinned insect squirm. As the energy faded, so did his armor, leaving only Jason himself behind.

"Much better." Tommi stepped off of him and seized him by the arm. "First things first. Scorpina, let's go. We can finish them later."

Scorpina hmphed a little, smirking at Trini as she did. "Fine with me. I have something that I need to get back to anyway. And you will be seeing us again, Rangers. You can count on it."

"Jason!" Kim tried to move forward, but the multiple bruises and cuts, painful even through her armor and through the effect of the Power, held her back from doing much more than reaching out ineffectually as the Green and Red Rangers, and Scorpina, vanished from the battlefield. As soon as they did, the flames in which Tommi had surrounded them faded away, leaving a scorched circle around them, and a few civilians on the other side, staring in shock at the beaten and smoking Power Rangers.

Billy inched his way closer, his stomach screaming in a red-hot agony of pain. Tommi had delivered several powerful kicks there, knocking him backwards before she'd went after Jason directly. "Let's get back to the Command Center," he groaned. "Maybe we can figure out what to do from there."

Trini glanced for a moment at where Jason and Tommi had been, then to where she and Scorpina had been fighting. _What did she mean by that?_ Now wasn't the time to think about it, though. "Let's go."

Four bright lights lifted into the sky, vanishing from human sight as they streaked away. When they arrived at the Command Center and reformed, demorphing in the same moment, all of them were having trouble staying on their feet. "That Green Ranger is _brutal_!" Zack declared. "She wasn't anything like that when we were watching her at the Youth Center."

"In disguise," Trini reminded him, leaning against the nearest console that would bear her weight. She turned to look at Zordon, who regarded them all with kind and worried eyes. "What can we do?"

**The only way to defeat the Green Ranger and save Jason is to destroy her weapon: the Sword of Darkness. The spell that binds her has been woven into it, and destroying it will destroy the spell.** Zordon told them. **It will not be easy and it will require all five of you.**

Zack sagged down, just barely able to hold himself off of the floor. "Great. And she's got Jason already. So now what do we do?"

"Get him back." Kim said simply. "What else are we going to do?"

"Got any ideas for that?" Zack asked, closing his eyes as Alpha started to putter between the four of them with his medical equipment. He wasn't sure just what it consisted of, but if it was going to ease the pain, he wasn't that picky about it.

No one had any answers for that, at least not right away. Alpha went among them, waving one of the devices that Billy hadn't done much more than the barest examination of. It was something to repair torn and broken skin and muscle tissue at a slightly faster rate than the Power itself could, something they could all use at the moment.

"What's she going to do with him?" Trini wondered, glancing at the others. As Alpha passed each of them, they all began to stand up a little straighter, the pain easing. "What does she even want him for?"

"To stop us from stopping her," Zack suggested. "Thanks, Alpha." He straightened up a little more and looked towards Zordon. "Are you sure there's no other way to stop her?"

**Rita's spell cannot be broken any other way. We are extremely fortunate that it was tied into something that can be destroyed.** Zordon sounded almost thoughtful, and Zack frowned, noticing that.

"What's on your mind, Zordon?" He seldom asked their mentor anything like that, but right now, any information would be useful.

Zordon said nothing in reply for a few moments, then shook his head slowly. **A thought, nothing more, Zack. It may come to nothing.** He paused briefly. **The sooner that we are able to free the Green Ranger and rescue Jason, the better.**

There was no need, or way, to argue with that. "We can't attack Rita's palace," Zack said, turning his thoughts away from Zordon's curious evasion to the business at hand. "But is there any rule that says we can't sneak inside to get Jason out of there? And maybe get rid of that sword while we're there."

**That would be permissible.** Zordon agreed with a slight bending of his lips. **So long as you do not attack first.**

Trini grinned some. "But they're probably going to attack us as soon as they find us."

"So, we either try not to be found, or we be ready to defend ourselves," Zack replied, his grin answering hers. "Next question: can we get up there? She's probably got some kind of security, right?"

Billy moved over to one of the consoles, doing so much more freely than he had when they'd arrived. "I should be able to scan the moon and get a precise location for Rita's palace, and possibly Jason's location within it."

"Then let's get to it." Zack moved a little so he could see what Billy was doing and tried not to think about what Jason was probably going through up in Rita's dungeon.

* * *

The cords that bound Jason to the bed were slender, but glowed with a faint emerald light that betrayed the magic within them. He jerked his arms forward to no avail, wanting to get free, morph, and get out of here, and if he could find a way to save Tommi as he did, then so be it. But staying here with her wasn't an option. As much as he cared about her, and he did, very much, he wasn't going to betray his principles, or the trust Zordon had put in him, or the entire world for a pretty face.

He'd been pushed in there nearly as soon as they'd arrived. He hadn't even seen Rita, and this place had a vague disused air to it that told him it wasn't used all that much. Not that he wanted to see Rita, but it would have been much better than being tied down here and wondering exactly what Tommi was going to do.

_She's the Green Ranger._ That kept going through his mind. If he could help her, turn her away from Rita, then it would certainly be better for both of them. The idea of fighting side by side with her, just like they had against those Putties, only knowing for certain they were both doing this for the good of the world…it was exhilarating.

"Well, aren't you a pretty sight there." Goldar was suddenly in the doorway, filling up most of it with his armored bulk. "Rita's Green Ranger's going to have some fun with you before she kills you."

Jason's first reaction was to deny that Tommi would do any such thing. But his second was to recall that foot pressed down on him and to remember the cold look in her eyes. She _would_ do it. Rita's spell would make her.

"What business is it of yours, Goldilocks?" he asked instead, glaring over at him. "You want a fair fight? Let me out of this and I'll give you one."

"What would I want a fair fight for?" Goldar sneered, his sword appearing in his hand in a flash of black flame. "I might spare her the trouble of playing with you first." He eyed the captive Ranger, his dull red eyes sparking wickedly. "Maybe I should play with you first. My way."

Jason jerked once more at the bonds, but there was absolutely no give at all. The cords didn't bite into him, but for all the reaction there might have been, he might as well not have moved at all. Goldar smirked as he stepped closer.

"I've been wanting to do this ever since I met you, Red Ranger," he said, raising his sword. "And there's no way that I will let the Green Ranger take killing you away from me." He swung the blade downward sharply, and Jason moved as quickly as he could to avoid it. There wasn't much movement he could do, and if Goldar did want to kill him he was certain that he would be dead.

Which was why he was more than a little surprised when the blade cut through the cords instead. Goldar raised it again and sliced through the ones on the other side, but pressed one hand against Jason's chest, keeping him pinned, while he cut the bonds on Jason's ankles as well. His sword vanished, and he seized Jason by the hair, dragging him off of the bed.

"I thought you said you didn't want a fair fight!" Jason gasped, wincing at the grip. He'd known Goldar was strong, but facing him without being morphed was different than facing him with his armor on.

"I don't." Goldar sneered and pushed Jason through the door. "I have something much more fun in mind. But it's still going to be a fight."

Jason ended up being pushed and semi-dragged out of the room and down a dark, murky hallway. That was just the start, however. He was pushed and pulled this way and that, up stairs and down them, through doors and rooms, most of which were thick with dust and had the musty smell of a place where air hadn't moved for years, if not centuries.

When he was last pushed through a doorway, Jason's skin tingled all over and everything went completely black for a few moments. He stumbled, falling to his knees briefly, then rolled instinctively when he heard Goldar moving up behind him. Goldar's foot just scraped the side of his ribs, and the mighty warrior laughed cruelly.

"This is only the beginning, Jason. You have no idea of how badly I'm going to hurt you." He laughed again. "You had better pray that the Green Ranger _does_ find you, before I kill you."

Jason's vision cleared suddenly, though he realized a moment later that it didn't make that much of a difference. Wherever he was, it was all but impossible for him to see around himself. Thick fog filled the area, blocking everything that was farther away than a foot or so from being seen.

_Not good._ He started to pull himself to his feet, then caught the slightest breath of moving air. That was all he needed; he threw himself to one side, slamming into a wall he hadn't even realized was there. Where he had been a second earlier, Goldar's sword swept through. If he'd stood there, the blow likely enough would have taken his head off.

He had to find a way out of here. He grabbed quickly for his communicator, and had to bite back a furious groan when his hand met only bare skin. Goldar laughed, sounding far too close for Jason's personal comfort.

"Did you really think that we were going to let you _keep_ your communicator or morpher? You're never leaving this place alive, Red Ranger."

"That's what you think!" Jason defied him; it didn't matter that he didn't have any way to escape. He wasn't going to lay down and die. "You're in for a shock, Goldar!"

Again Goldar's laugh echoed, and Jason dodged another strike, but not nearly as well as he had the previous time. The sword cut into his shirt, and a thin line of fire across his back told him he'd been marked. "That's just the beginning, human. I'm going to take all of your blood before this is through."

"Keep bragging." Jason hissed, dropping low and moving as far back as he could from where he heard Goldar's voice coming from. At least for the moment. He moved around silently, trying to catch some glimpse of Goldar, hoping for a chance to turn the tables on him attack.

The back injury wasn't too bad, thankfully. He'd done worse to himself in sparring sessions, he thought. But he didn't want Goldar to get a chance to do something like that on a more intense scale.

He held himself still, waiting and watching, listening with all of his might. There was no sound of anything anywhere, save for his own breathing. Goldar should be there, should be breathing, but he couldn't hear him.

One scrape, that was all that it was, and Jason didn't have quite the split second he could have needed to react before a huge, scaled hand came from the darkness and knocked him backwards into the wall. He moved a moment later, however. If he stayed where he was, Goldar would kill him without a doubt.

_How is he doing that? How can he get around like he can see in all this darkness?_ Jason didn't have Billy's brains, but he was far from being an idiot, especially where combat was concerned. If Goldar could make his way around as if it weren't dark to him, then maybe to him it wasn't.

"You can see around here, can't you?" Jason spat the words out; Goldar had said that it wouldn't be a fair fight, but that didn't stop the fury from boiling up at the thought how ridiculous he had to look. Not to mention, how _could_ Goldar see in the fog? Shouldn't it look just as black to him?

Goldar's voice came from right beside him, and Jason reacted, jump kicking him in the chest as hard as he could. It didn't have quite the impact that it might have had if he'd had a bit more distance, but it was enough to get Goldar to back off some. "You're only prolonging the inevitable, Jason! You've only survived this long because I've permitted it!"

Jason snorted to himself, trying to keep his back to a wall so Goldar couldn't sneak up on him like that. "Yeah, I've heard that before." He would've given a lot for his communicator. Or morpher. Or a door that led out of there. There had to be one, since he had gotten in here, but the fog had to be keeping it concealed.

"Do you really think you'll get any better treatment from the Green Ranger?" Goldar mocked, one fist flying at the captive Ranger. Jason dodged, seized Goldar by the wrist, and held him there while he drove a knee up towards him. That proved not to have been the wisest move, given the armor that his opponent was in, and Jason winced as pain shot through his knee. Not enough to stop him from moving, but it wasn't going to be fun to keep doing so.

Before he could move far enough away to avoid it, Goldar had seized his shoulder and threw him downward, pinning him there. Jason's heart raced, as did his mind. He had to find a way to get out of this, before he was shish kabobed.

Goldar raised up his sword and brought it down swiftly, aimed directly for Jason's unprotected chest.

**To Be Continued**


	7. Snatching From The Enemy

**Disclaimer:** All canon-based characters, situations, and plotlines are copyright to their original owners, creators, and designers. I make no profit, nor want any.  
**Story Title:** Pretty Poison  
**Chapter Title:** Snatching From The Enemy  
**Romance:** Tommi x Jason  
**Story Word Count:** 23,451  
**Chapter Word Count:** 3,480  
**Genre:** Romance, Adventure  
**Rated:** PG-13  
**Status:** 7 of 10 chapters  
**Notes:** This is going to be an alternate version of the Green Ranger arc, positing how things might have been different if Tommy Oliver had been born female, Tommi Oliver. Comments and criticism gratefully accepted.  
**Challenge:** 10_switched: Set #5, random 2: prompt #4, celebration  
**Summary:** What would the Green Ranger arc be like if Tommy Oliver were...Tommi Oliver? Just a little change.

* * *

There was no light in there to gleam off of the blade, but Jason could see it coming towards him regardless. Everything went through his mind in a matter of seconds. He couldn't move his arms enough to make a difference; Goldar had him pinned by the shoulders with one of those massive, and far too smelly, feet of his. But he could still move his own feet, and he thought he just might be able to do it enough.

With a fierce cry of battle, Jason bent, doing one of the best high kicks of his life from a prone position, and managing, just barely, to move enough under Goldar's weight to get the full power of his muscles behind the kick. He didn't aim for Goldar's wrist or body. No. What he wanted was the sword itself, and his foot scored a perfect hit, knocking it to the side. Instead of sheering through him, it scraped against his upper arm, and he knew blood had been drawn again.

At least it hadn't been his life's blood. He could put up with some injuries, as long as it wasn't that. He wasn't going to give Goldar the satisfaction of having killed him, no matter what.

"Goldar!" A clear, quite recognizable voice rang out a moment later, and the Green Ranger stood there. Tommi was fully morphed, but Jason had a feeling she was furious despite not being able to see her face. He wasn't going to let his guard down, though. She was just as dangerous as Goldar was, and not the least because he cared about her.

In fact, that probably made her even more dangerous to him. A _lot_ more dangerous.

She took a few steps closer to Goldar, the heels of her boots clicking slightly against the floor. "What do you think you're doing? He is _my_ prize."

"I've fought him for longer than you've even been one of us," Goldar retorted, shifting his weight to keep Jason pinned. Jason's move had saved his life, but he wasn't able to get up just yet. If he had to trade people torturing him, he much preferred Tommi. At least she bathed regularly.

"Queen Rita promised him to me. Get out of here." She shoved him away from Jason, bent down, and seized him by the arm. Almost as soon as she did, everything rippled around them, and they were back in the bedroom where Goldar had so unceremoniously removed him a short time earlier.

He was pushed back onto the bed, but not bound there this time. Jason eyed her, not quite wanting to say thank you, and not sure of what else to say either. She stared down at him, then in a wash of green light, she demorphed. She looked much as she had at school, dressed casually and almost relaxed. Now that he knew what to look for, he could see a slightly more calculating look in her eyes, and possibly a faint hint of green around them as well. It wasn't something that most people would see if they _weren't_ looking for it, though.

"Why did you do that?" he settled for asking. "You're going to kill me anyway, aren't you?"

"I can always give you back to him if you're that interested in dying. But no, I _don't_ want to kill you. I told you, I have other plans."

Jason eyed some of his injuries; they were bleeding, but not too much, and certainly not because Goldar hadn't been putting his all into it. Probably some combination of dumb luck and the Power, even if he didn't have his morpher. He still _was_ a Power Ranger, after all.

"What kind of other plans?" Granted, having been tied down to what he presumed was her bed gave him a few ideas, and images of several interesting kinds surged around in the back of his thoughts where he tried not to pay too much attention to them. It wasn't all that easy to ignore, either.

"I think you can guess. I wasn't very interested by you at first, but Scorpina gave me a few ideas that I'm going to enjoy testing out." The look in her eyes was something more akin to someone wanting to test out an interesting theory than anything else. Jason was _not_ sure at all of how to take that.

Saying he could guess didn't make it any better either. That just led the back of his mind to throw up images of her on top of him, of her kissing him, of trying to kiss her back… He swallowed a little, and wished he understood why those images were _so_ enticing.

"Tommi," he said, wanting to get them both out of there. That was the only way he could really feel like he could answer both calls ringing in his heart. As much as he liked her, as much as he wanted to do so much more than sit here, he was the Red Ranger. He _couldn't_ just let Rita and all of her crew, Green Ranger included, take over the world and not try to stop them. "Why are you working for Rita?"

"Because she is my Empress. She was the one who gave me the Green Power Coin." Tommi folded her arms over her chest and looked down at him. "Is there any other reason that you're working for Zordon, than the fact he gave you your powers?"

Jason shook his head at once. "We're doing it because it's the right thing to do. Someone has to stop Rita. What she's doing is wrong, evil, and I think a part of you knows it, you just can't hear that part right now. It's your conscience." He made a daring guess then. "That's why you're not killing me, why you think you want to do what Scorpina said to do instead." Even now, he couldn't quite bring himself to say 'seduce me'. "Because you know it's wrong. You want us to stop you."

All throughout his little speech, Tommi's hands been slowly clenching and unclenching. The emerald light in her eyes flickered briefly, until she finally whirled away, breathing hard. "No. You're wrong. It's just going to be more entertaining to entertain myself with you and _then_ kill you, after I've killed all of your so-called friends." There was a sudden extra edge of malice in her tone. "Though, that's not quite true. I won't be killing _all_ of them."

"What?" Jason started to get up, not liking the sound of that at all.

"I think I'll just be killing…what are their names again…oh, yes. Kimberly and Zack. And you, of course. Billy and Trini are Scorpina's prey."

Jason was no longer _starting_ to get up; he was fully on his feet and furious no sooner than the words had left her mouth. "What did you say?"

She turned to face him, and the green in her eyes was stronger than ever, a wicked glow that infuriated him even as he began to wonder just how they could break Rita's spell. Or if they could break it at all.

"I said, I'm going to kill the Pink and Black Rangers. Scorpina is going to deal with the Yellow and Blue ones. She's already sent something to finish off the Yellow Ranger. It just is waiting to be activated, which I think she intends to be doing…" Tommi made a brief show of looking at her watch. "Any time now."

Jason spun, trying to find some way out of the room. Where the door had been was now a visible barrier of emerald energy, and he headed right over to it. He should've guessed from the way Tommi simply stood there and watched that what was going to happen was what did happen: he bounced completely off of it, trails of energy wrapping from it around him, sending echoes of pain up and down him, especially where Goldar's sword had sliced into him.

He lay on the floor, shaking some, and opened his eyes a little as Tommi came to stand over him. "You're not going to leave here until I permit you to," she said, seizing him roughly by one arm and tossing him towards the bed. Morphed or unmorphed, she was a lot stronger than he was right now. "You had better understand that." She eyed him a bit, a slight crease between her eyebrows, her attention going to the cuts. "You're going to need something for those. I doubt Goldar has cleaned that sword of his in ten thousand years."

She turned and walked through the door, without a speck of the trouble he'd had. He groaned, sagging back onto the bed. He couldn't just sit here doing nothing. There had to be a way out of here. If he could just find his communicator and morpher. They had to be somewhere. Not in here, that would just be stupid, and Tommi had shown many qualities he didn't like, but being an idiot wasn't one of them.

Trini was in danger, and there was no way that he could let her know. They were _all_ in danger, and he couldn't do anything but sit up here and wait for the evil Green Ranger to come back with something to dress his injuries with. If anyone had told him this was going to be how he'd spend his day, he would've immediately decided they were crazy. Now he wondered if maybe he was, and he'd just never noticed until now.

Two sets of footsteps alerted him to someone coming, and he looked up to see not just Tommi, but a large-eared gray sort of person that he'd never seen before there. She gestured abruptly. "Finster, take care of those."

"Yes, Green Ranger," Finster said at once, hurrying over. Jason noticed belatedly that he was carrying a couple of bottles and some wet rags that were probably hot, from the steam rising from them. His unlikely nurse bent over and started to wipe at the injuries carefully. "There's an elixir on here that will keep any infections from setting in," he said, paying more attention to Jason's wounds than Jason himself. "And these potions will heal you more quickly as well."

As he spoke, Tommi moved to the far side of the room, staring out of a large window. Finster glanced towards her briefly, then back at Jason, meeting his eyes this time.

"Destroy the Sword of Darkness," he murmured softly, leaning closer to get to the wound on Jason's shoulder. "It will free her from Rita's spell." He moved a bit closer, then spoke a touch more loudly, though not quite loudly enough to cause a distraction. "That should take care of everything."

Jason blinked a few times; he hadn't really expected any sort of help, beyond maybe a bit of basic care for the injuries, and _not_ how to break the spell on Tommi. He wanted to ask how, but Finster was already moving away. Then something else startled the Red Ranger: Finster laid one finger on his own wrinkled wrist, then looked firmly out of the room. He gestured the way he was looking, then made a quick hooking motion.

_Down the hall and around the corner? My communicator?_ He mouthed that quickly, and Finster nodded even as he came closer to the door.

"I'll be going now. Do try to keep him in one piece. Red Rangers don't grow on trees."

Tommi snorted a little. "As if I wanted more than one in the first place." She gestured, and Finster hurried out through the door. Jason watched him go, still more than al little confused. It was nice to know where his communicator was, but if he couldn't get out of here, then it might as well have been…on Earth!

Jason glanced at the two bottles that had been left; there didn't seem to be any other kind of help coming from there. So getting out of here was still up to him. The communicator, and morpher if it was there as well, was going to be guarded. It would be nothing short of stupid for it to be otherwise. Probably Putties, which he was fairly sure he could get by, or some of Rita's other goons, which he was also certain he could get by.

If he could get out of here in the first place. He was probably going to need those potions too. It would be ridiculous not to take any kind of help that he could manage to get. _Why_ Finster was helping him, he didn't know. But he'd ask Zordon, or even Finster, about it later.

Tommi's hand on his shoulder wasn't quite as heavy as Goldar's had been earlier, but it was more than enough to pull his attention from his inwardly turned thoughts and back to her. She stared down at him, the glow to her eyes somewhat less intense now. "You're tired." It was something less of a question and more of a statement, and he wasn't going to argue. After going those rounds with Goldar, he _was_ tired, and the fight with Tommi beforehand hadn't exactly been a piece of cake either.

He nodded slightly, and she pushed him flat onto the bed. "Get some rest. I'll have plenty of time to deal with you later." Once he was down, she watched him for a moment or two, then headed for the door again. "Goldar won't bother you this time. He's busy right now, tearing apart some Putties."

Was that some other scrap of information he was going to need to get out of here? Or just a random comment? He'd have to figure it out later. If he didn't get _some_ rest, then when the time came, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it, no matter what it was.

Given he was still somewhat injured, alone, without his morpher and communicator, no matter how tired he was, he was a little surprised to find that he _did_ fall asleep shortly after she left.

* * *

"Any luck yet?" Trini asked, leaning over to see how much help Billy was going to need. It was a good thing it was the weekend; none of them had left the Command Center since they'd returned to it after the disastrous battle against the Green Ranger.

"I think I almost have it, but I don't think I can teleport him out of there. There's some kind of a force field. _Multiple_ kinds if I'm reading this right." Billy stared at the readings, rubbing his eyes. Three or four hours had passed, and he wasn't nearly as close to figuring out how to get Jason out of there or them up there as he'd wanted to be.

His stomach rumbled fiercely before he could get back to his work, and he flushed a little. Maybe that was why he wasn't getting that much done. But to take a break, when he could be so close to finding out what they needed to know…

"I'll go get us something to eat," Trini decided, smiling a touch. "We could all use something, I think. What do you guys want?" She looked over to where Kim and Zack were helping get the last remnants of Tommi's attack here out of the way. Kim looked up, pushing some of her hair out of her eyes.

"Are you going to Ernie's?" she asked, and when Trini nodded, gave one of her usual orders. Zack did the same, and Trini teleported off, already knowing what Billy was going to both want and need. He wasn't going to need her help right now, and they'd all think better with some lunch in their stomachs.

As usual, she landed just out of sight, and headed around to the entrance. Before she got there, someone else stood in her way. Sabrina was there, a slightly smug look on her features. "That's a very pretty brooch you have there, Trini," she said. "Wherever did you get it?"

"This?" Trini blinked, distracted for a moment as she glanced down at the scorpion ornament. She'd put it on without even thinking about it that morning, just liking how it looked against her sweater. "My uncle sent it to me."

Sabrina laughed, a very chilly laugh indeed. "It almost looks as if it were _alive_." And the moment that she spoke that word, Trini's eyes widened, catching movement for a moment before something whipped forward, burying itself into her chest. Her eyes widened even more at the pain, and at the strange pain that spread outward from where she'd been struck. She stumbled, her vision blurring, and tried to grab onto Sabrina for some kind of support.

"You're going to need a whole lot of help. Too bad I don't feel like giving it." Sabrina stepped aside, avoiding her grasp, and Trini stumbled again, collapsing to her knees. She grasped a bit at the brooch, but her fingers couldn't get a good grip on it. She tried to get up, but all of the strength was fading out of her limbs.

"S..a.." She tried to call out to the other girl, but she wasn't certain if those syllables made it out of her throat or if she heard them only in her imagination. She slipped forward further, unable to support herself at all now. She thought she saw a flash of light, but she couldn't get a good enough look at anything to tell.

Her breath was coming shorter and shorter. Breathing was getting harder and harder. Was there actually noise sounding around her or was that her imagination now too?

Before she could make any sort of headway in finding out, darkness itself folded around her, and there was nothing more to do but succumb to it.

Back at the Command Center, the alarms began to beep suddenly, bringing Billy quickly out of his trance of work. "What is it now?" Now was just not a good time for an attack, not being one Ranger down.

"Ay-yi-yi!" Alpha pressed his hands against the side of his head and stared at the Viewing Globe. "It's Trini! She's been attacked!"

"Putties?" Kim asked, hurrying over to stare into the depths of the shimmering globe. Alpha shook his head quickly.

"I'm reading traces of Scorpina in the area, but I didn't see her." Even as they watched, they could see Bulk and Skull coming out of the Youth Center, where Trini had collapsed just outside of the door. The two bullies stared at each other for a few seconds, then stared down at her, then Bulk ran back inside, while Skull tried to loosen Trini's collar.

Kim could not help a small smile. "One of us should go down there." Bulk and Skull were doing their best, but if this involved Scorpina, the Power Rangers were going to have to deal with it too.

"Long distance scans reveal a great deal of Scorpina's venom in her," Alpha declared, having turned away to work at one of the consoles. "I can cure it, but I need a couple of ingredients I don't have here yet."

Zack stepped up, eyes narrowed. "Let me know what you need and I'll go get it."

"And I'll go talk to Bulk and Skull," Kim decided. Billy nodded and hurried back to his own work. He couldn't help Alpha with the cure, but he was going to at least do what he could do and help Jason.

In a flash of bright pink light, Kim teleported down to Earth, morphing as she went. When she arrived, Bulk, Skull, and Ernie were there, and Ernie was checking over Trini with a bit more professionalism than the two teenagers could have managed.

"Pink Ranger!" Skull stared at her once she appeared. "What…there's not monsters around here, are they?"

"No." She reassured him quickly. "But this young lady has been hurt by mistake by one of our enemies. Our support staff and the Black Ranger are working on getting the cure for what's affecting her. We'll take care of her from here."

She reached out to touch Trini's shoulder. She didn't like being a bit abrupt like this, but there was just too much of a chance that any sort of hospital could find out that Trini healed a little quicker and better than most people, and no one needed that kind of question being asked. "We'll have her back soon. Thanks for looking out for her."

Her smile couldn't be seen behind her helmet, but from the way Skull was blushing, you'd think that _she_ was the one smiling at him, not the Pink Ranger. _He's kind of cute. When he's not trying to be a pain._ Then she had so much else to think about, as everything dissolved into pink light.

**To Be Continued**


	8. Stream of Consciousness

**Disclaimer:** All canon-based characters, situations, and plotlines are copyright to their original owners, creators, and designers. I make no profit, nor want any.  
**Title:** Pretty Poison, Chapter 8 of 10: Stream of Consciousness  
**Romance:** Tommi x Jason  
**Word Count:** chapter: 3,097: story: 26,548  
**Genre:** Romance, Adventure  
**Rated:** PG-13  
**Notes:** This begins almost immediately after the end of the previous chapter.  
**Challenge:** 10_switched: Set #5, random 2: prompt #10, water  
**Summary:** What would the Green Ranger arc be like if Tommy Oliver were...Tommi Oliver? Just a little change.

* * *

Kim, Zack, and Billy watched as Alpha ran a scan on Trini. Zack couldn't keep himself still; if he didn't move he was going to go crazy. Alpha had told him that he wouldn't know _exactly_ what he needed, or how much of it he would need, until he could examine Trini and get the last bits of information.

"Done." Alpha announced at last, the pale light that had been going up and down the Yellow Ranger fading away. Trini lay where she was, her eyes closed and her chest rising and falling quickly, a sheen of sweat on her pale skin.

"So, what do you need?" Zack asked quickly, leaning forward. He was ready to go to the far side of the universe if that was what it took to save Trini.

Alpha shuffled over to one of the consoles and began to tap at the buttons. Lights flashed, a couple of beeps were beeped, and a loop of paper fell out from somewhere. "There are two ingredients necessary to finish the antidote. Scorpina's poison has been known to mutate, otherwise I would already have everything I need." He read over the list carefully. "We'll have to teleport you to the Molhar dimension. There are certain berries I'll need to counteract the poison, and a container of water that will cleanse her system out."

Zack nodded, glancing over to Trini again. "Just send me where I need to go."

**Be on your guard, Zack,** Zordon told him, bending his head down briefly to look at the young man. **The items you seek are not unguarded. You will have to earn your way to them. But make what haste you can. Trini's life hangs in the balance.**

Zack held himself back from saying that he already knew that. It wasn't going to make a difference. "You got it. How do I get back?"

"Just contact us again with your communicator. The Molhar dimension is very close to our own, so communications between there and here are not difficult. The berries that you're looking for are very round, dark orange, and very sour if you taste one. I only need three." Alpha handed him an empty flask, pressed another couple of buttons on the console, and everything around Zack vanished, replaced by a pristine wilderness.

He looked around, shivering at once. As quiet and serene as it all looked, there was also a hint of danger in the air, a feeling as if he were being weighed, watched, and measured. He turned around, trying to get some idea of where he was and maybe where he had to go in order to find what he was looking for.

_Water, water…there!_ He heard water trickling over stones and hurried towards it, pushing his way through trees and bushes. After Zack had been smacked in the face a few times, he managed to find a slightly less overgrown path, and in minutes stood before a sparkling stream, as clear as cold be. On both sides grew several small bushes, each one covered in the dark orange berries that Alpha had described to him.

"Great." He glanced around a little. Zordon had said the place was guarded, but he couldn't see anyone. "Uh, is anyone here?" His voice echoed just a bit, but there was no response. Maybe the guard was off-duty? He'd apologize later if he had to. Right now, getting these berries and that water back to Alpha was a lot more important.

He bent down, reaching with the flask Alpha had given him, and started to scoop up some of the water. As soon as the tips of his fingers touched it, everything froze around him, including the flowing stream.

**Who dares to touch the waters of life?** The voice rang all about him, echoing in his mind more than in his ears. It was neither male nor female, but an odd combination of both, and he couldn't see anyone around who might be speaking. **Speak!**

"Uh. Oh. Hi." Zack tried to move, but to no avail. He had to get back! Every moment that he spent here was one more that Trini didn't have to live. At least he could still speak, which might help. "Could you let me go? I need to get this back to Zordon and Alpha to save Trini's life."

Only silence answered at first. **You speak of Zordon. Who are you?**

"Zack Taylor." He hesitated, then went on. "Black Mastodon Ranger."

**It has been some time since I heard Zordon's name uttered by humans. He would not send you if there was not need. What ails this 'Trini'?**

He drew in a quick breath and hoped this wasn't eating up more time. "She was poisoned by Scorpina, one of Rita's henchmen. If I don't get back there with the water and these berries soon, she's going to die." He hated saying that word, especially where it might pertain to Trini or any of his other friends. But not saying it wouldn't make it not happen, if he were too late.

Again there was nothing but silence, as if whatever or whoever he was talking to had to think about what he was saying. **Anyone may speak the name of Zordon, even a human. Answer my questions, one who calls himself the Black Ranger, and should you be correct, you will have what you came for. Fail in even one, and you will not.**

That was not what he needed. But since he couldn't move, he couldn't really argue about it. "Fine. What are your questions?"

**What is it that begins everything and yet ends both time and space?**

A riddle. Zack knew a lot of riddles, and he knew he'd heard this one before. But this wasn't the best time for them, in his opinion.

He tried to think. There had to be an answer to it; riddles weren't fair without an answer. Zordon wouldn't have sent him here if he couldn't come back safely. _It begins everything and ends time and space. What is …_ Zack grinned. Oh. That was easy, now that he thought about it. "The letter 'e'."

**Well done. But the first is always the easiest.** There was even a hint of amusement in the voice now. Zack swallowed and waited for what was going to come next. **I have an eye, but I have no head. I can destroy buildings and kill those who cross my path, yet I have neither arms nor legs. What am I?**

That was something else Zack thought he'd heard before. Unfortunately, trying to remember them all when his thoughts kept falling back to Trini wasn't the easiest of tasks. How long had he been here? What if Alpha's calculations had been wrong and this couldn't save her? And there was Jason. How was he doing? What was Tommi doing to him? How were they going to be able to help _her_? Sure, it was easy for Zordon to say just destroy the sword, but until she came back, they couldn't.

_Until she comes back with Jason. He said it would take us all._

He shook his head and tried to concentrate on the riddle he'd been given. He ran it over and over in his head, doing his best to recall the answer. He'd tried that one himself, he thought, on Angela, trying to impress her. She hadn't gotten it, and it had annoyed her. He'd thought then that it was so simple, how could anyone not get it, it was, it was… "A hurricane!"

A trace or two of tension ran out; he only had one more to go, and then he could get out of here with what he needed to save Trini.

The guardian wasted no time on asking that last riddle. **I am a box that holds keys without locks, yet they can unlock your soul. What am I?**

Box. Locks. Keys. Zack shook his head, dropping his gaze down towards the water again. His head about all that he could move; his hand would go no further towards the stream nor could he move his legs closer to one of the berry bushes. Why couldn't that guardian have just _believed_ him? What would he get from lying?

**You would gain the materials for an elixir that can counteract the poison that flows in the Yellow Ranger's veins.** The guardian spoke. **Answer my riddle, Black Ranger, for her time is running short.**

Zack shook his head once more and stared, though he wasn't sure what he was staring at. "You can read my mind." It was a statement, not a question, and he thought he should have figured it out from the beginning, given that that was where he kept hearing the voice at. If the guardian could see into his mind, then it _knew_ he wasn't lying.

**The hearts and minds of all those who enter this dimension are open to me. But even so, nothing here can be stolen or given. All must be earned. Speak your answer or surrender.**

He wasn't going to surrender. Though…if he failed, he wouldn't steal, either. He wouldn't be able to look Trini, or any of his friends, in the face if he did.

A box that had no locks but it had keys, and it could still unlock the soul. The words tumbled over and over in his mind as he tried to find some way that it all could make sense. Box, lock, keys, soul. Unlocking. What could unlock a soul? Well, how could one get locked up in the first place?

Maybe he was going at this the wrong way. He twitched as best he could, and not being able to move that much _annoyed_ him. Moving, dancing, singing, that was what he was made for, and staying frozen here…

_Wait._ Singing. Music. He hadn't ever taken a lesson with one, but he knew what it was now. His mother played one, and he'd _tried_ to when he was younger, but that hadn't gone very well. "I know! It's a piano!"

**Very good.** Approval rang through the voice now, and Zack found that he could move. **Take what you have earned, Black Ranger.** His hand jerked forward, just as if he hadn't been immobile all of this time, and the container slid into the water, filling up quickly. He broke off a spray of three berries and looked around.

"Uh. Thanks. Whoever you are." There was no answer this time, and Zack quickly tapped his communicator. As nice as this place was, it was weird, and he wanted to go home. "Alpha, I've got them. Bring me on back."

**Send Zordon my greetings, Black Ranger. Perhaps someday, we shall meet again.**

Zack was a bit grateful that he didn't have a chance to say anything as the familiar energy of teleportation wrapped itself around him. _Man, I didn't know that Zordon had friends in this place. For a guy in a tube, he sure gets around._

As soon as he reappeared in the Command Center, Zack handed off the flask and the berries to Alpha and went over to where Trini lay on the examining table. "Any change?" he asked Kim, who was still beside her.

"Not really." Kim shook her head a bit. "I think she opened her eyes once, but that was it. I don't think she actually saw me."

At least she was still breathing. He glanced at his watch; he'd only been gone about ten minutes. It had certainly seemed longer there. He looked back at Trini, hoping to see her eyes open, even if she wasn't aware. What he saw instead was that brooch on her sweater. "Hey, where'd Trini get that, anyway?" He'd not really noticed it before, but it was kind of strange. "It looks like a …scorpion."

Alpha had said that it was Scorpina who had poisoned Trini. Zack hadn't really thought about how that had happened, somewhat assuming there'd been a fight. _Hold on. We would've known. The alarms would've picked that up._ "Alpha," he said, not taking his eyes off of the brooch, "when you get a chance, think you could scan this thing?"

"I can do it." Billy said, moving over to one of the scanners. Zack watched as a slender beam of light moved across the piece of jewelry, and several rows of information began to come up on a view screen. "Uh, guys. We might want to be a little careful."

"Why's that?" Zack didn't take his eyes off of the scorpion ornament, but he did shift his position a little. He was about where he would need to be…

"Because the scan is showing that brooch has a high concentration of Scorpina's magical signature on it, as well as traces of the poison as well."

That was all that Zack needed to hear. With a quick kick, he knocked the brooch off of Trini, making a mental note that he'd have to get her a new shirt to replace that one now. As the brooch hit the floor, it glowed brilliant gold, and before Zack could even begin to reach for his morpher, it had vanished.

"It's gone back to Scorpina, most likely." Billy suggested. "But at least it's gone now."

"I've done it!" Alpha declared a second later, raising a syringe full of a thick green liquid. "This should fix Trini right up!" He hurried over to her and without a moment to waste, injected the mixture into her arm. He didn't seem to notice anything unusual about her shirt being torn, but Kim quietly pulled her own sweater off and draped it over her friend.

Zack watched, his teeth clenched tightly together. "How long is this going to take?" For Earth poisons and antidotes, it probably would take days for Trini to be all right again. For something like this, he couldn't be sure.

"Not more than half an hour before she's completely back on her feet," Alpha declared. "The cleansing Waters of Life will speed up the process!"

That reminded Zack. "Uh, Zordon. The guy that was there…or whatever he was. He said to tell you hello and he'd like to see you again someday." He scratched the back of his head for a moment. "Friend of yours?" **Yes. A good friend, from a long time ago.** Zordon's voice was faintly melancholy. **I would indeed be pleased if I could see many of my old friends again.**

Zack nodded; if he hadn't seen any of his pals in ten thousand years or so, he would have wanted to change that if he got the chance. Maybe someday, Zordon _would_ be released from his time warp. _Just means we're going to have to beat Rita completely one of these days, so he can._

"Has there been any sign of Jason or Tommi, Zordon?" Kim asked, lifting her attention from Trini for a few moments. The mentor shook his great head slowly.

**I have been watching Rita's palace as best that I can. There has been nothing.**

Zack nodded; the idea of going in there after Jason was still the best, in his opinion. But without Trini there was no use of trying. That half hour was going to be murder to have to wait through.

A light groan came from one side, and Zack looked quickly. Trini's eyes were open, and they were thankfully clear, though confused. "Zack? Kim? Billy?" She tried to sit up and Kim quickly pressed her back down. "What happened?"

"You were poisoned by Scorpina," Zack told her. "But Alpha's got you all fixed up now. Just rest a little bit more. We've still got to go get Jason."

Trini nodded slowly, then stiffened some. "No, it wasn't Scorpina. At least…Sabrina was there. She said something very strange, about my brooch…" She reached up to where it had been and frowned. "Where is it?" She blinked down at the torn spot on her shirt, then clutched Kim's sweater to it a bit more, faintly blushing.

"That brooch was what poisoned you. Scorpina must have sent it somehow." Billy said, averting his face, his own cheeks slightly hot. Zack focused on a point somewhere beyond Trini and wondered how much of the half hour was left.

"We think it went back to her," he said. "I kicked it off of you. I'll buy you a new shirt once we've taken care of all of this. I promise."

"Oh." Trini glanced from one of them to the other, then to Alpha. "How soon are we going to be able to go?"

"Just as soon as you're ready, Trini," Alpha said, running one of his scanning devices over her. "That should be very soon."

**While you are there, be extremely careful, Power Rangers. Rita's palace is infested with traps, as well as her henchmen and Rita herself. While you are morphed and within the bounds of her palace, the lack of atmosphere will not affect you. Retrieve Jason, and the Green Ranger if all possible, and return to Earth.**

"We'll watch our backs, Zordon." Zack promised. He wanted all of this over with. He was tired of his friends being hurt and not knowing where at least one of them was. _This really feels like we're in a war. Trini could've died. Jason might already be…_ He cut that thought off where it was. Even if finishing it wouldn't change what had happened, he just didn't _want_ to think it.

Tension slowly mounted as the minutes ticked by, and Alpha kept checking on Trini, monitoring her progress. "You'll still need to rest for a while after this is over," Alpha told her. "But there's no more poison in your system and the Power will see to it that you stay on your feet as much as possible, even when you're not morphed."

"Good." Trini got to her feet, swaying a bit, and held onto the nearest console until she had her balance back. "Let's get going. Jason's been there long enough."

**May the Power protect you, Power Rangers.** Zordon gave them the best blessing that he knew. They were going to need all the help that they could get going on this mission. But not going on it would be even worse, since there was no guarantee that Tommi would ever bring Jason out of the palace. Going in to get him was the only way.

"It's morphin' time!" Zack declared. In brilliant flashes of black, pink, yellow, and blue, the Power Rangers' rescue mission to the moon began.

**To Be Continued**

**Note:** Honestly, I don't know who the guardian was. He just kind of turned up in my head when I was writing this chapter and he fit, so, he's there.


	9. Storming the Palace

**Disclaimer:** All canon-based characters, situations, and plotlines are copyright to their original owners, creators, and designers. I make no profit, nor want any.  
**Title:** Pretty Poison, Chapter 9 of 10: Storming the Palace  
**Romance:** Tommi x Jason  
**Word Count:** chapter: 3,352: story: 29,900  
**Genre:** Romance, Adventure  
**Rated:** PG-13  
**Notes:** This begins almost immediately after the end of the previous chapter.  
**Challenge:** 10_switched: Set #5, random 2: prompt #5, weather  
**Summary:** What would the Green Ranger arc be like if Tommy Oliver were...Tommi Oliver? Just a little change.

* * *

Tommi stood on the balcony and stared down at Earth. She didn't know where Rita was, and didn't much care. Being around her queen made her mind go strange. She stopped being able to think and only waited to be told what to do. That irritated her. Tommi _liked_ being able to think, and the more time she had spent with Rita and her henchmen, the less thinking she'd been able to do.

She really shouldn't stand there doing nothing, though. The Red Ranger needed to be taken care of. She should have already done it. Taken pleasure of him, and then killed him, as Scorpina had suggested. But the thought of doing so twisted something inside that she'd never even thought was there.

_Just a few days ago, all I could do was think of killing him. Scorpina's ideas were interesting but I don't even want to do that anymore._ She couldn't bring herself to say it out loud. Anything that she did say to Jason…to the _Red Ranger_…would only be words of her loyalty to Rita. But deep within her heart, other reasons had been slowly unfolding.

Tommi rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand. Finster had been doing something other than healing Jason, she was sure of it. Something that she should, in all loyalty, report to Queen Rita. That made no sense, however. Not just for him doing it, but for her lack of reporting it. The little scientist would never turn against his queen, any more than she would.

Everything was becoming too complicated for her. She liked life much better when everything was simple. Her temples were pounding harder, and in an almost instinctive move, she summoned her Sword of Darkness into her hand.

As soon as she did, the headache eased off, and everything was much clearer. She didn't even need to play with the Red Ranger, really. She just had to kill him. There would be no more of this wishy-washiness, this neglecting to do her duty simply because he might be interesting for sexual purposes. There were thousands, _millions_ of people down on Earth, many of whom would be much better looking, and who were much less likely to want to fight back.

There was absolutely no more need for standing around here. She turned and stalked back towards her room. Let Scorpina toy with her prey all she wanted. Green Ranger had better ways to employ her time: such as killing all of those who stood in Queen Rita's way.

She was right outside of her door when something flared across her senses. She was used to the presence of the power of evil around here, but this was something new. It was clean and pure, intent only on helping others. Her stomach churned at its presence, and she growled, gripping her Sword even more tightly. The closer it was to her, the more able she felt to fight off the nausea this new awareness was causing. What could it be? What had invaded Queen Rita's palace?

_Power Rangers._ The answer came in a sudden rush of _knowing_. Not Jason, though. Without his morpher, that presence of pure good was overwhelmed by all of the evil in the palace. No, these were fully powered Rangers, who were likely enough here to take her kill away from her.

Emerald light flared from her eyes, and lightning began to twitch in her fingertips. She was not going to let them get away with this. How _dare_ they come and invade?

No matter, however. Sleek tendrils of shadow slid their way into her mind, weaving ever more closely around the darkness already there. They could do nothing. She was close enough to her room to be able to get inside and finish the Red Ranger off before any of them could do anything about it. By the time she found them, she would have his head to display as a trophy.

She threw the door open, entering quickly. If the Red Ranger were still asleep, then she would finish him off without a moment's hesitation. If he were awake, she would do the same thing. The difference would be how much joy she took in the act.

A few quick steps brought her from the door to the bed, her blade already raised high. She began to bring it down, then stopped, staring. This was _not_ happening! It couldn't have been happening. Yet somehow, without her knowing how, in that short time that she had spent contemplating that treasonous dissatisfaction with her queen, it had.

The Red Ranger had escaped.

* * *

Zack looked all around carefully. They had had to teleport to one of the weakest parts of the barrier that normally kept them away from the lunar palace, which meant they would have to make their way inside and up who knew how many stairs to find Tommi and Jason.

"Okay, let's get moving," he murmured, starting forward. The door wasn't that far ahead, and he hoped that it wasn't locked. Blasting it off was possible, but that could probably stir up some trouble. _If it's putties, we can handle it._

The door turned out to _not_ be locked, and Zack wondered for a moment why. He caught Trini looking at it thoughtfully as they all crept inside as well.

"Any idea why it wouldn't be locked?" he murmured to her. Trini shrugged a little, but Kim grinned a little herself.

"Easy. Who in their right minds would come walking into a place like this? Why should Rita have to lock it?"

Zack thought about that for a second and grinned. Yeah, that was probably it. Who in their right mind _would_ go wandering into a palace filled with evil witches, evil warriors, and clay heads? _You_. He ignored that little whisper of his own thoughts. If it weren't for Jason being there, he wouldn't be there either.

It didn't take very long to find a set of stairs that wound its way upward, and the four of them carefully walked along, keeping all of their attention focused on every shadow and any place that so much as looked as if it held the capability to hide anything like a Putty, Scorpina, Goldar, Rita, or the Green Ranger.

None of those shadows held anything, no matter how high they climbed, however. Zack didn't like it; shouldn't there have been something strange in the area?

"Aren't there any leftovers from her making monsters?" Kim whispered, voicing his same concerns. "Or just some rats or something? Not that I want to see a rat."

"We're on the moon." Billy reminded them, keeping his attention moving around as they all were. "There isn't very much to feed them or keep them sheltered."

That was as good an excuse as any. There was dust on almost every piece of furniture they passed, and their own boots left imprints in the dust on the floor, which was a good four inches thick. "She really needs to take better care of this place," Zack murmured. They were all trying to keep their voices low, not wanting to make themselves known even now.

"Guess she has better things to do than dust." Kim suggested. "Like try to take over the world."

Zack spied an ornately carved door ahead of them and motioned the others to be even more quiet as he crept towards it. This was the same method they'd used on the other doors they'd passed. Everyone else was quiet, while someone opened to see what was beyond it.

Slowly he pushed the door open, and groaned when he saw what was there. He would have preferred an empty room. Instead, there was a gray, furry bipedal creature standing in what looked like a laboratory of some kind. "Hey!" He might as well try to make this good, before whoever this was sounded an alarm. "Don't make a move. We just want the Red Ranger and then we're out of here."

Large blue eyes blinked at him, then the creature nodded. "Of course. He'd up three more floors, then take a left at the gargoyle and two rights. You can't miss it. He's probably trying to escape already, or at least he will be if he realized I turned off the force field keeping him in there, so you'd best hurry if you don't want to miss him."

Zack's eyes narrowed behind his helmet. "You'd better not be lying." He wasn't sure offhand what he'd do if the creature was, but he was going to sort of threaten anyway.

"I suppose you'll only know if you go and find out." The creature said reasonably enough. "Hurry along, I'll have to tell Rita you're here sooner or later, or she'll twist my ears once she finds out you stopped here. You horrible Power Rangers forced the location of the Green Ranger's quarters right out of me. I had absolutely no choice at all. By the way, you should pass where the Red Ranger's morpher and communicator are being kept. I suggest that you pick those up when you go by, unless he's already gotten to them himself."

Zack slowly nodded; this was not what he'd been expecting, but what else could they do but accept the help? If this guy were lying, then…well, they were already in the enemy's stronghold. What more could go wrong?

Almost as soon as he thought that, a dozen ideas for what could go wrong cropped up in his mind. He pushed them all away, however. Alpha had a lock on all of them. They could get teleported out if anything went completely wrong.

Closing the door again, he led the others on up the stairs in the way the furry creature had indicated. He only realized then that he hadn't even bothered to get his name.

* * *

Jason pressed himself against the wall, breathing shallowly. There were Putties around the corner, and from the quick look he'd taken before, they were poking and playing around with his morpher and communicator. He hoped that they didn't leave clay on it. He'd never tried to wash his morpher, and he didn't want to find out the hard way that he shouldn't.

He'd fought Putties unmorphed before, but not without being able to morph if he had to. That quick look had also shown him that they were the only ones there. No Goldar, no monsters, no one else. If he could just grab what was his and run, he'd probably be better off.

Of course, he wouldn't do that. He had a lot of steam to let off, and without Goldar or Green Ranger, the putties were the next best tool to do so.

There was no time like the present. The longer he stood there, the better his chances of being discovered were.

His head snapped around almost at once, as a tap came on his shoulder, and he saw a Putty Patroller staring at him, making a curious warbling sound as he did so. Jason didn't waste any more time. He slammed one fist into the Putty's stomach, driving the clay creation backwards, and then seized the creature around the waist, lifting it over his head. He ran around the corner and threw his captive at the four other Putties who were there as hard as he possibly could.

"Hey, clay brains!" He didn't bother with any other challenges than that, just charged in after, stomping, hitting, pounding with all of his might. His communicator and morpher were on a stand the Putties had been surrounding, and his improvised weapon had really only taken out two of them, he saw. The other two were circling around, trying to get at him from behind, and the one that he'd thrown had started to get up, being pushed off of them by the two that it had hit.

All right, he could do this. There were only five of them, and once he'd punched out a few frustrations, he could grab the morpher and the communicator and be out of there. He got down to business as quickly as he could. Punch. Kick. Dodge. Throw. Squirm away when two of them tried to pin him between them. Jump to avoid his feet being kicked out from underneath him. Decide that he'd worked out all the frustrations that he needed to at the moment.

"Time to go!" He dodged around the Putties one last time, seized the communicator and morpher, and headed down the hallway. They were after him in seconds; their lack of thinking skills didn't prevent them from knowing that he wasn't supposed to be doing this. At least not according to any orders that they had. "No need to give me an escort, I can find my own way!" Quirky puns weren't his real thing, but he felt more alive saying something, instead of just running down the hall in utter fear of what might happen if he were caught.

Then he turned a corner, and slammed into something far harder than a Putty. The impact knocked him back a few inches, and as he tried to recover himself, realized that there was a firm grip around his wrist. He yanked back, and a far too familiar voice purred as he did.

"Going somewhere, Red Ranger?" Tommi stood there, unmorphed, but with his wrist firmly held between her fingers. "I don't think so."

"Tommi!" Jason struggled harder, but there wasn't a great deal that he could do. She might not be morphed, but she was obviously stronger than he was right now. The slight sparks of humanity that he'd seen in her eyes before were all gone now. They were flat and emotionless, the eyes of someone playing with a meaningless toy. "Come on, you don't want to do this!"

She said nothing, only drew her other hand up, which held a sharp and deadly sword. She pulled him closer by that wrist, placing the edge of the blade against his throat. She was going to do it, he could see that clearly, and he had time to do just one action that might hold a chance at saving his life.

"Tyrannosaurus!" And as she pressed the blade closer, his armor formed before it, pushing it backwards. If the Green Ranger was going to kill him, then he was going to make her fight for it! And if he could find a way to end Rita's domination over her, then he would do that, too.

* * *

"Zack!" Alpha's voice came over the communicator. "Jason has morphed! We can't get a fix on him yet, but he doesn't appear to be very far from you. If you can get close enough, I should be able to teleport you all back!"

They were nearly to the floor that they'd been told Jason would be on. Zack touched his communicator for a moment. "Got it, Alpha. I'll let you know when we see him."

He gestured towards everyone else to keep following him as he trekked down the second of the two rights that their mysterious, and possibly untrustworthy, guide had told them of. This area of the palace was a little better kept, and the farther they went down the hallway, the more noise was able to be heard, in a stark contrast to the frozen silence they'd left behind.

"Sounds like fighting," Trini said, her head tilted slightly as she tried to listen better. "I think…I think that's Jason!"

Zack listened as well, and heard very familiar noises. "Come on!" Together, the group charged down the hallway, and what they found at the end of it was fairly spectacular.

Green Ranger and Red Ranger were fighting, their swords clashing against each other, while half a dozen Putties or so were circling around behind Jason, ready to strike the moment he let his guard down. Zack didn't hesitate for a microsecond. He charged right at the Putties, knocking three of them over and letting the rest of the Rangers fight over who got the rest. They were messing with his best friend, he was _not_ going to take that.

"Alpha!" He shouted into his communicator as soon as he had recovered somewhat from knocking the three over. "We're here, with Jason and Tommi!" What Zordon had said earlier suddenly flared back up in his mind, as he saw a thin thread of light gleaming off of the sword in Tommi's hands. They were all needed…and now they were all there. "Teleport us out, now! We need to finish this!"

He didn't want to tell Alpha to send them someplace where they were alone. He had to trust that the little robot would figure it out on his own. Their identities had to be kept a secret: especially Tommi's right now. He didn't know her that well, but if she were suitable to be one of Zordon's Rangers, and he hoped that she was, then when she was free, she would loathe everything that she'd done under Rita's control.

Meanwhile, Green Ranger herself just kept attacking Jason, striving with all of her might to crush her way through his defenses and finish this battle. She _had_ to win, for the glory of her queen! She couldn't let him defeat her! It wasn't going to end like this!

She almost didn't notice it when the energy of teleportation circled around her. If it hadn't been for the surrounding scenery changing from the familiar hallway of the palace to the sandy beach outside of Angel Grove, she might not have noticed at all. But it didn't matter.

"I can kill you here or anywhere else you choose, Red Ranger!" She hissed the words out darkly, charging towards him yet again. Before she could get close enough, however, Pink Ranger was there, interposing herself between Tommi and her target.

"You're not going to do this, Tommi!" Kim declared, trying her best to push her back. Green Ranger was built larger and stronger than she was, however, and there was little that Kim could do to change that. "We're going to stop you!"

"None of you can stop me!" Tommi replied, slamming the other girl to one side and resuming her march towards Jason. He would be first. She'd promised that to herself, to prove that she could kill someone that she…to prove that she could kill. That was all.

Trini tried to get in the way as well, slamming into Tommi's stomach with a powered kick. Tommi stopped, looked at her, then backhanded her with a powered strike of her own. She was unstoppable. Unrelenting. Jason stood just a short distance away now, and she stopped, raising her Sword of Darkness.

She held it there for only a breath of a second, but that breath was all that was necessary. Billy and Zack, one from the left, one from the right, shot their blasters at her hand. There wasn't much actual pain, but her grip loosened on it enough for Kim to dart forward and knock her sword out of her hand with a strong gymnastics-powered kick, while Trini, who had somehow ended up behind her, seized her arms to prevent her from going after it.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Tommi shrieked, struggling. Why wasn't Rita sending help? Where were Goldar, Scorpina, some Putties, a _monster_ to back her up?

_You don't deserve my help any longer._ Rita's voice suddenly rang coldly in her mind. _You're useless, Green Ranger. You couldn't even kill a helpless, unmorphed Power Ranger._

Then her queen's voice was gone, and Tommi was aware of all the gifts gone as well, the extra strength, the ability to weave illusions, all fading from her. Only the Power remained, and it was weakening swiftly.

"What we're doing is setting you free." Jason said, drawing his own blaster. Tommi watched, helpless to stop him, as he took aim and fired at her…at the Sword of Darkness. Brilliant green it glowed briefly, a sickly green despite the brilliance, before it exploded.

The reign of the Evil Green Ranger was over.

**To Be Continued**


	10. Taste of Victory, Taste of Defeat

**Disclaimer:** All canon-based characters, situations, and plotlines are copyright to their original owners, creators, and designers. I make no profit, nor want any.  
**Title:** Pretty Poison, Chapter 10 of 10: Taste of Defeat, Taste of Victory  
**Romance:** Tommi x Jason  
**Word Count:** chapter: 3,599: story: 33,499  
**Genre:** Romance, Adventure  
**Rated:** PG-13  
**Notes:** This begins almost immediately after the end of the previous chapter.  
**Challenge:** 10_switched: Set #5, random 2: prompt #8, breakfast  
**Summary:** What would the Green Ranger arc be like if Tommy Oliver were...Tommi Oliver? Just a little change.

* * *

"What…" Tommi sagged back into Trini's grip, her head spinning. Everything was fuzzy for a few moments. Then, with a nearly audible mental _snap_, clarity returned. Tommi stiffened, then wrenched herself away from the Yellow Ranger, half-collapsing onto the beach. Her stomach churned, and she heaved, heaved until there was nothing left to come back up, and her throat burned with bile.

Jason came over to her, touching the back of her neck. "Are you all right?"

"That…has to be the stupidest question…I've ever heard anyone ask." Tommi slowly looked up at him, then dropped her gaze back to the sand. Her head ached even more than it had earlier, and she wanted to find someplace very dark and stay there a while. Thirty or forty years sounded about right.

_I…I hurt so many people. And none of them deserved it._ There was no way that she could ever make up for what she'd done. Except, maybe, if she gave up the Power Coin to Zordon and let him choose someone who _deserved_ it, not someone like _her_.

"You're free of her spell now." Jason held a hand out to her. "You can choose what you do for yourself." He continued to hold the hand out, even when she didn't take it. "But we'd like it if you joined us."

Tommi blinked a few times as she slowly sat back, looking around at them all. They'd demorphed when she hadn't been looking, and they looked so different to her now. Before, she'd seen them all through the emerald haze of Rita's brainwashing. Now, she could see them for the kind people that they were. People she would have wanted to be friends with, if all of this hadn't happened.

"You'd want me?" She shook her head, then blinked. Oh. She knew what it was. "Jason…if Zordon can help you, he should. I…I dosed you with a love potion the other day when we were at the Youth Center." That was what was doing this to Jason, making him think that he wanted her around.

She looked down at her hands, and the Power Coin appeared there in a brief flash of green. She turned towards Zack, who was now the closest to her, and held it out. "Give this to Zordon. You guys can find someone better than me to be the Green Ranger. I'll keep your secret, though." She didn't ask that they keep hers. If they wanted to punish her by letting everyone else know what had happened, then so be it.

"Tommi…" Jason started to reach for her again, but she evaded him quickly and shook her head.

"Find someone who really deserves that." She just couldn't bring herself to be around them right now. Still somewhat unsteady on her feet, she headed off of the beach and towards home, not looking back. Looking back might have made her think twice, especially if she'd seen Jason again.

_Don't be stupid. You know it's just because of that stupid love potion._ Her eyes were damp. But all she would let herself do was just wipe the tears away.

* * *

Alpha ran the scanner up and down Jason, checking the readout carefully. He nodded a little, then turned to Zordon, who had watched everything with his usual attention.

**Rita's love potion has been completely removed from your system.** Zordon told him. **How are you feeling?**

Jason rubbed at the back of his head a little. His thoughts were a lot clearer, and a lot less focused on Tommi, than they had been in days. "Better. A lot better."

This was not to say that the former Green Ranger wasn't on his mind, of course. He looked to where the Green Coin had been sealed until they found someone worthy to give it to. "What are we going to do about that?"

"Not everyone can be a Power Ranger." Alpha told him. "There are certain emotional and physical qualities that must be possessed. We were quite lucky that the five of you had them all in potential."

Kim tilted her head back to look up at Zordon. "Does Tommi have them?"

**Yes. She is quite suited to be a Power Ranger. But her experiences with Rita have not left her unaffected. We must respect her choices.** Regret tinged Zordon's voice as he dropped his head a little. **We must therefore choose another Green Ranger.**

"Is there anyone else who would qualify in Angel Grove right now?" Jason asked. He didn't want to just abandon Tommi. Love potion or not, he liked her, and he wanted to see more of her.

Alpha went over to one of the consoles and began to punch a few buttons. "There are a few." Images flickered up on the screen, some of them faces familiar to the teens, some of them not. Kim blinked at one of them.

"You're telling me that Skull could be a Power Ranger?" It was a thought that had never passed her mind before.

"I guess anything's possible." Zack said with a shrug. "I don't think Rita's going to wait around for us to make a decision very long."

**Zack is right. But it is also a choice that must not be rushed. You five are possessed of the highest potential, which is why you were the ones chosen when Rita attacked. Everyone else who was a potential Power Ranger had much less to offer in terms of skills or personality.**

"So, which one do you think could be the best for it?" Trini asked, arms folded over her chest. None of this felt right. She wished there was something that some of them, any of them, could do in order to help Tommi, but the former evil Ranger had been staying away from all of them in the three days since her release from Rita's control. She'd scarcely even bothered to look at them when they passed in the hallways.

Jason looked over the information that Alpha had brought up. "I can't say for sure right now. Let's think about it first." They might not have much time, but they had some, at least until Rita made an attack. Until then, who knew what could turn up.

* * *

Tommi tried her best to avoid being around the others as the days flicked by. She'd managed to talk most of the teachers into moving her seat away from theirs, and with a little judicious managing of her time, she could avoid them coming or going from school.

Avoiding being around them didn't mean she avoided thinking about them, however. She could hardly do that, no matter how much she wanted to. Anything reminded her of them, or of what had happened. A flicker of bright colors, hearing them talking amongst themselves, just passing by her own locker, any of those or a million other factors brought back some form of a memory.

_I wonder why they haven't picked up a new Green Ranger yet._ There had to be someone they could use. She was hardly unique, and just about anyone would be better than an idiot who had gotten herself captured and brainwashed. They deserved so much better. Someone who would be a strength to their team, not a weakness, had to come along sooner or later. Not that she was paying that much attention to see when the new Green Ranger turned up, of course.

She nibbled a little on her breakfast, though her appetite ever since her release had been more than a little lacking. It was necessary to eat, but everything tasted like ashes and grief in her mouth. She managed to choke down enough every day to keep herself strong enough to train and study. But there was no actual _joy_ in just eating. At least her mom hadn't asked too many questions about her loss of appetite lately.

"Tommi?" At least she hadn't asked many questions until now. Tommi looked up at her.

"Are you feeling well? You haven't really been yourself lately." Her mother sat down opposite her and watched her carefully.

_Not been myself? That's one way to put it, mom._ "I've just had a lot to deal with." Tommi dared not say a word to her mother about what had really happened. She wouldn't reveal the secrets of the Power Rangers, and she couldn't tell what had happened to her. "I'm fine, Mom, really."

She poked a bit more at the food, until it looked as if she'd eaten more than she had. Her mother said nothing, but continued to give her that look that all mothers give to their children when said children are being stubborn. "If you ever do want to tell me the truth, I'm always here."

Tommi nodded a little, then glanced at the time. She had never been more grateful to see how late it was getting. "Gotta go, Mom! See you later!" She grabbed her books and headed out quickly. If she waited much later, there was a chance that she would cross paths with Jason on his own way to school.

_Maybe I'll figure out something to tell you someday, Mom._ She really didn't like making her mom worry that much. _But not today._ Maybe not for a long, long time to come, either. But at least being a Power Ranger wasn't something she'd ever have to lie about again.

* * *

No decision had been made yet on who would take up the reins as the new Green Ranger. Jason stared over the lists of qualities and those who had the best chances, and none of them gave him half the sensation that they would be a good Ranger that Tommi did. The only hard part would be convincing _her_ of that.

Yet another school day had drawn to a close. He was getting his books out of his locker when that familiar beep sounded from his communicator. He glanced about quickly, and noticed Tommi was at her own locker. She turned slightly towards him, then away again, not even quite meeting his eye.

"What is it, Zordon?" Jason asked. As much as he really wanted to talk to her, business had to come first.

**Rita has sent down a group of Putty Patrollers to the park.** Well, it looked as if vacation were over with.

"All right, I'm on the way." He slammed his locker door shut and hurried to the nearest concealed location before teleporting. It looked like the usual path of clay heads; nothing much to worry himself about. He wouldn't have been surprised if the local civilians could have taken care of them without him.

"Red Ranger!" Well, _Goldar_ might be a little more difficult for them to deal with. But Jason was getting more and more used to solving the problem of the big winged pest. "What's the matter? Misplace your little girlfriend?"

"Are you going to talk or are you going to fight?" Jason retorted, ignoring most of what Goldar had said. That was something else that worried him. If they went after Tommi again, and she had no morpher…

Goldar charged, and Jason charged right back, grinning as he did. He might not be able to make some decisions, but this was one that was easy to deal with. Goldar needed a good solid butt-kicking and he was going to give it to him.

Kicks, punches, flips, and blows of every style were being exchanged. The other four Rangers had shown up as well, taking on Putties and Scorpina, who had turned up sometime when Jason had been wrapped up in fighting Goldar. She and Trini were going at it again. There was obviously quite a bit of bad blood left over from that poisoning attack. Jason wished Trini the best of luck.

Goldar and Scorpina ended up back to back, both sneering at the Rangers. The Putty Patrollers were gone, tossed into a heap that vanished. Jason rolled his neck a bit and glared at the two warriors.

"So what are you two doing down here? Just looking to kill some time?"

"Oh, in a way." Scorpina smirked at them. "But really, we're just killing time for you. So that Rita's monster has a chance to finish off that worthless _Tommi_."

"Zordon!" Jason went for his communicator right away. "Tommi's in trouble, they're going after her!"

**Understood, Jason.** Zordon's calm voice soothed him, but Jason wanted to do more than that. He wanted to get there to her, to be certain she was all right personally. He glared over at Scorpina and Goldar.

"You're going down." He charged, all of the others going along with him. These two had to be dealt with first. Once they were finished, he'd go find Tommi.

In another part of the park, Tommi herself was having difficulties. She'd wanted to avoid it altogether, but to do so would have meant going way too much out of the way. _Maybe I should have risked it._ Two Putty Patrollers had her in their grip, and she was being dragged over towards a seven foot tall monster that appeared to be made out of daggers.

"So what are you supposed to be? Sharpy something?" Tommi glared at the creature, still yanking against the clay soldiers with all of her strength. These weren't the usual Putties, which she had thrown around even before getting the Green Coin. She could move them, a little, but for the most part, they had her arms twisted around too much for her to be able to get away.

"I am the Dagger Duke!" The monster waved its hands, which resembled highly sharpened knives. "And Queen Rita wants you disposed of, _former_ Green Ranger."

"Sorry, I don't do what she wants anymore." Tommi brought one foot up and smashed it down as hard as she could on one of the Putties holding her. If their arms had been made stronger to hold her, then their feet hadn't been, since it released her almost at once. She grabbed it by the wrist and slung it into the other one, getting her other arm free.

Dagger Duke was still coming closer to her, however, blades gleaming in the afternoon sun. "You will regret not having pleased her!"

"I think I've regretted a lot of things, but that's not going to be one of them." Tommi declared, moving around as quickly as she could to stay out of the range of those weapons. _She's not going to just let me go. I've got to be able to fight._

Fighting was going to be easy. Winning was what was going to be difficult.

Shrieks echoed suddenly, and Tommi's gaze snapped behind Dagger Duke to see a couple of girls, probably three or four years younger than she was, being encircled by a group of Putties. They'd obviously wandered a little too close to the action, and the Putties didn't care who they hurt, so long as they hurt someone.

She'd taken only a step or two closer when the monster got in her way again. "What do you think you're doing?" he sneered, waving those sharp hands towards her. "You're not a Power Ranger anymore, remember?"

No, she wasn't. She'd given up the Coin. "Maybe not. But I don't have to be." She crouched for a moment, then leaped over Dagger Duke, somersaulting until she landed beside the girls and the Putties. "Why don't you clay idiots take on someone who can fight back!?" she challenged, sparing only a quick glance for the girls. She jerked her head a bit, indicating for them to get out of there.

She didn't watch long enough to see if they did, but plunged right into the fight. Whenever she got the chance, she threw one of the Putties towards Dagger Duke, keeping him as far back as possible. More and more Putties started to turn up; was Finster working overtime or something? The fight had begun with five, now there were seven…ten…fifteen…

Tommi was getting overwhelmed. She stumbled, her breath coming short as she fought for air she wasn't getting, and a Putty, a little more clever than the rest, chose that moment to shove hard into her side, knocking her down. The rest piled on top of her, keeping her pinned down as the monster came closer.

"Time to finish this!" Dagger Duke raised up his blades, the Putties moving just enough so it would have a clear shot at her. Tommi stared up at him, moments when she'd had the Red Ranger at her mercy flickering through her mind.

_He's not going to stop. He's going to kill me._ She jerked and flailed in the Putties' grip but to no avail. _I don't want to die!_ Had Jason thought the same thing? Would she have cared then? Yes and no. _I want to stop this! I want to stop them!_ No one had the right to kill someone else over _nothing_. No one had the right to rule over other people the way that Rita did.

She had to be stopped. _Like I was stopped._ Her eyes narrowed, and she _wanted_, she wanted that Coin to be in her hands, she wanted it more than she wanted her own life, more than anything else.

Something cool dropped into her half-open hand. She didn't question. She didn't look. She just _knew_.

She gripped it tightly.

Dagger Duke's blades came down swiftly.

"_DragonZord!_"

Her gloved hands wrenched away from the Putties holding her and blocked the monster. "Not today!" Green Ranger declared, shaking off the rest, her energy revived as the Power flowed through her, strong and clean and no longer tainted by Rita's twisted spells. _This_ was what a Power Ranger should be.

She launched into an attack without another second to spare, slamming into Dagger Duke as hard as she could. Her armor protected her from the blades now, and she pummeled with all of her strength, punching, kicking, blasting with her Blade Blaster, anything that would back the monster up.

"Hey!" Jason! She would recognize that voice anywhere. No time for reintroductions, though. She kept on fighting. "Who are you?"

"Right now? Wanting to get rid of this thing. Think we can manage this?" Tommi asked, grinning fiercely beneath the helmet. Her voice wasn't distorted now; she wasn't sure if they'd recognize it or not. They didn't seem to.

Six Rangers against Dagger Duke were six too much, and after a flurry of blows of every type, the monster fell backwards.

"Let's finish this!" Jason declared, gesturing with his Power Sword. Tommi watched as the Power Blaster was formed, then a sudden thought occurred. There was an empty slot at the top…could she…

Before they blasted it, she slammed her Dragon Dagger in that slot. "Now! Time for his Grace to make a graceful exit!"

"Fire!" Six voices resounded, and a blast of raw power tore through Dagger Duke, leaving him naught but a small pile of scraps.

Tommi relaxed, trembling just a bit from all the excitement. Jason turned towards her. "So…" He tilted his head some, looking at her. "Who are you?"

She grinned to herself. This was going to be interesting. Slowly she unsnapped her helmet and slid it off, shaking her hair out as she did. "It's me."

"Tommi!" Her name erupted from their lips in varying levels of disbelief. Jason stared most of all, then started to grin.

"There's got to be a good story behind this," eh said. Tommi started to nod, but before she'd scarcely begun the motion, a far too familiar blast of light came down, bathing Dagger Duke.

"There is, but first, we're going to need to finish that thing once and for all." This would be her real first time with the DragonZord. She could hardly wait to see what it could do.

Together, the six Power Rangers headed off into battle together for the very first time.

* * *

**Congratulations, Power Rangers.** Zordon's proud gaze bent down on them all. **And to you as well, Tommi Oliver, for your choice to protect this world against Rita Repulsa's evil.**

"Someone has to do it. And since I helped her, even though I was under a spell…it's only right that I try to stop her, with all of you." Tommi smiled a little, fingering the green communicator on her wrist. She was still a bit iffy about it all, but she was going to do her best, no matter what.

Jason placed a comforting arm on her shoulder and she smiled a bit at him. "There's a whole lot that we should talk about, I think. If you're not too busy tomorrow morning, maybe we could meet up for breakfast at Ernie's, before school gets going?"

Tommi wet her lips a bit. It didn't sound like a date, and he was right that they all needed to talk. "All right. I'll see you there."

"Great." Jason's grin widened and some of that ashen taste that had been in Tommi's mouth and mind since that day on the beach faded away. "Can't wait."

Tommi nodded, glancing around at them all. She didn't know them yet as well as she would like, but that would change in time. There was so much that lay ahead of her. Even if she'd known, she wouldn't have been able to comprehend it all just then. One day at a time.

And more and more of those days would begin with breakfast at Ernie's, with Jason, and with all the friends she was going to make because of her choice to become the Green Ranger.

**The End**


End file.
